I'll Be There For You
by Amethyst-Love
Summary: Between careers, alcohol, relationships, love, and desperation, they all keep each other from falling apart.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Yeah, I know. I have no right to start a new story. But I can't help myself! And I'm really in love with this one AND =O I have the whole thing outlined. So hopefully I'll actually finish this, haha.

Disclamer: This is based off the TV series "Friends". I do not own friends or digimon.

* * *

Twenty-two year old Hikari Yagami hurried into her tiny apartment, hung her jacket, and tidied the room as quickly as she could. She cursed at herself for not going with her instinct and just taking the day off, but of course it would just make it that much more obvious to Mimi that she and Sora were planning her a surprise twenty-third birthday party. Hikari heard the front doorknob start to jiggle.

Sora Takenouchi hustled into the apartment, as well, threw her coat on the floor, and quickly started to prepare the kitchen for some last-minute cooking. Her auburn hair started to fall into her face, and Hikari chuckled out loud.

"We definitely didn't plan this as well as we thought we did," she said with a slight smile. Sora laughed as she opened numerous amounts of cabinets and started to take out a few ingredients.

"Next time we decide to have a party for _anyone_, we plan at least two days in advance, and not the night before," Sora stated as she paused to put her bangs in a clip. Hikari grinned.

Hikari, Sora, and their other friend, Miyako Inoue, have all lived in the same apartment for five years, but Mimi had just moved in last year, and this would be her first birthday with her friends. The reasons she gave the girls for moving in weren't really clear, but they never pestered her to give a deeper explanation because they knew she would when she was ready. They would just have to accept 'family problems' as an explanation for now.

Hikari ran to their couch and reached under it for the party decorations. She started putting up the different shades of pink flowers, streamers, and hearts around the apartment. Sora started to mix the different greens for the salad and started to prepare sushi, Mimi's favorite food.

"Time check," Sora said with a slight raise in her voice. Hikari looked at her watch, her light brown hair becoming just as disheveled as she was.

"We have about an hour," Hikari declared. Sora bit her lip and quickened her pace.

"Did you call Miyako?" Sora queried, turning around to look at Hikari. Hikari nodded.

"I called her on my way here. She said that she would be a little late, but she has a surprise for Mimi," she explained. Sora raised an eyebrow and Hikari shrugged. Sora sighed, afraid to ask her next question.

"What about the 'gentlemen'? Taichi and the others should be here with the cake by now," Sora said nervously. Hikari stopped decorating and fidgeted with her pinky finger out of habit.

"I haven't heard from them! Should I go see if everything's okay?" Sora nodded.

"If they forgot, I'll personally kill all of them," Sora mumbled as Hikari left their apartment and walked quickly to the guys' apartment across the hall. Taichi Yagami is Hikari's older. He lived with Koushiro Izumi, and Daisuke Motimiya. Takeru Takaishi, Jyou Kido, and Iori Hida live in an apartment right next to Taichi's.

When Hikari knocked on their door and no one answered, she was about to run down the stairs until she bumped right into her older brother, who was able to keep his balance and not drop the box containing the cake. Hikari looked up at her grinning brother and scowled.

"Why are you late?! Mimi will be here in an hour!" Taichi helped his sister off the floor.

"I'm not that late, okay? I just ran into… a little traffic," Taichi explained with a sneaky smirk. Hikari glared at him. She looked past him and saw Daisuke running up the stairs with a box candles.

"I found them, Tai," Daisuke panted. He looked up and smiled when he saw Hikari, but Hikari put her hands on her hips.

"Why are you here?! You and Takeru are supposed to pick up Mimi's parents!" Daisuke put his hands up in defense.

"Takeru was too far away from the apartment building because something happened with his boss, so he went to pick them up himself," he clarified. Hikari shook her head and tried to rub away her upcoming headache.

"Just get into our apartment and start helping," she explained, and with a few smart remarks, both men walked into their apartment. Taichi entered first and greeted Sora as he walked in. Sora glared and threw her oven mitt at his face. He ducked skillfully and placed the cake on the counter so there wouldn't be anymore chances to drop it.

"I'm here aren't I? Calm down," he stated. Sora looked fiercely at him and twisted her face in annoyance.

"Where's everyone else?" she said through her clenched teeth. Taichi shrugged and walked over to Hikari to help her put up more decorations. Sora shook her head in aggravation.

Daisuke walked over to Sora and placed a friendly arm over her shoulders.

"Need any help?" he asked her. Sora gave him an annoyed look.

"Daisuke, we told you all to do just a few things, and you guys still manage to be late or not show up at all," she said as she walked around the kitchen area and tried as quickly as she could to finish everything. Daisuke grinned.

"Relax, Sor. This party is going to be great and Mimi's going to love it," he soothed, placing a finger in the ranch dip. Sora smiled and smacked his hand away.

A few seconds later, Jyou Kido walked through the girls' apartment door. He looked flustered and had a multiple amount of bags in his hands.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, everyone, but I brought lots of party favors and other party needs," he said in between breaths. Taichi went up and took half of the bags from him. When they got into the kitchen area, Taichi looked into the bag and pulled out a pack of party hats. Sora looked over Taichi's shoulder and quirked her eyebrow.

"These were party necessities?" she asked with a slight laugh. Jyou smiled.

"Hey, this is _Mimi's_ surprise party we're talking about. It's meant to be cute and childish," Taichi stated, supporting Jyou and putting on a party hat which was tilted slightly to the side due to his big brown hair. Sora rolled her eyes at him, and pushed him out of the kitchen area. Jyou chuckled and followed Taichi out until Sora stopped him.

"Jyou, where's Koushiro?" she asked as she put finishing touches on the food.

"He's coming with Takeru and Mimi's parents because he was around that area, so he thought it might help," he told her. Sora sighed and nodded her head.

Jyou got out of the kitchen and saw Daisuke, Hikari, and Taichi running around to finish up the space.

"We have forty-five minutes everyone, move, move, move!" Hikari yelled while Taichi and Daisuke stumbled around the room trying their best not to break anything in the process. Jyou also joined in to help.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Sora had finished cooking, and the room was pretty much done. Kari was just putting on some last minute touches, while Sora went into her room, which she shared with Mimi, and started to change into her casual, but elegant, white dress.

Taichi, Jyou, and Daisuke sat on the couch, party favors and all, waiting for more people to arrive. Taichi blew tiredly into a party horn.

"I don't ever want to put up another pink flower for as long as I live," he stated, Jyou and Daisuke nodded at his comment.

There was a knock at the door, and Hikari went up and opened it. She was greeted by a hug from Koushiro, while Mr. and Mrs. Tachikawa entered the festive apartment.

"Hello, you must be Hikari," Mrs. Tachikawa said with a bright smile. Kari returned the smile and nodded her head.

"That's me. Would you like anything to drink?" She asked politely. Mr. Tachikawa nodded and asked for a glass of water, and Hikari ran into the kitchen to get it. Taichi, Daisuke, and Jyou got up and greeted everyone. Takeru Takaishi walked into the room dressed in jeans and a formal green sweater.

"Wow, what have you guys done with the apartment?" he asked with a smirk. Hikari came out with a glass of water for Mr. Tachikawa, and smiled at Takeru.

"That better have implied something good," she stated, and he grinned.

"Of course, of course,"

Sora came out of her room, looking casual, but prepared for the party. She smiled and greeted everyone new that entered the apartment. Hikari then went to change as well, and Takeru watched her leave eagerly.

"Everyone can sit down, we still have a good twenty minutes," Sora stated as she went into the kitchen just to check on a few things and bring out something to eat for everyone that was waiting.

Iori Hida entered the apartment next. He smiled, greeted everyone, and sat next to Jyou.

"Where were you? I didn't see you in the apartment all day," Jyou whispered to him. Iori blushed and fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt.

"I went to my classes and then just hung around for a while," he stated softly. Jyou raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, don't tell me. You law school students are just too bizarre for me anyway," he stated. Iori chuckled, but it seemed kind of forced to Jyou.

Hikari came out of her room in a soft pink top and skirt, and then went into the kitchen to see if everything with Sora was okay.

"Is everything set?" she asked her. Sora smiled and nodded.

"Down to every detail," she chimed, walking out of the kitchen with a bowl of baby carrots and dip. Hikari smiled and cleaned up a few things when she heard the swinging door open and Takeru walk in with a big smile. He strode up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You look stunning, as always," he complimented softly, pulling her closer to him. She smiled and leaned against his chest.

"Anyone can walk in on us, you know. Including Taichi," she stated. He pulled away a little and groaned.

"Then why do we still have to keep it a secret?" he asked her with a pout. She smiled and kissed his lips softly.

"I'm just not ready to tell anyone, yet. I know it'll just be awkward for everyone," she said and bit her lip. He sighed.

"I guess...but the sooner we tell them, the better," he spoke and brought her in for a passionate kiss. Hikari sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, but when she heard footsteps approaching the kitchen door, she pushed him away. Takeru looked at her, lost, but when Miyako Inoue entered the kitchen, he turned around to make it look like he was doing the dishes.

Miyako grinned and walked over to Hikari who was smiling uneasily.

"So, guess what I got for Mimi!" Miyako exclaimed, her lavender hair bouncing up and down as she jumped in excitement.

Hikari was still a little flushed from the close encounter, and when she glanced at Takeru, he made a relieved face.

"Um- I don't know…what?" she asked, trying her best to look natural. Miyako grinned.

"You remember that pink and green strapless dress that she wanted?" Miyako asked, and Hikari's eyes bulged.

"How did you buy that dress, it was so expensive?!" she asked incredulously. Miyako bobbed her eyebrows and pushed up her glasses.

"A little of this, a little of that," she said nonchalantly. Hikari laughed.

"Speaking of Mimi, how much longer do we have till she gets here," Takeru asked. Miyako shrugged her shoulders, completely unaware of what was going on between Hikari and Takeru.

"Any minute now, I suppose. Let's go wait outside," Miyako suggested and left the kitchen. Takeru let out a breath of relief and Hikari sniggered.

"I told you anyone could have walked in," she said as she gave him a peck on the cheek and walked out the door.

When Hikari exited, with Takeru right behind her, she took a seat next to Sora, who was chatting happily with Mrs. Tachikawa. She saw Takeru take a seat next to Koushiro, who, for once, didn't bring his laptop. Mrs. Tachikawa got up and went into the bathroom to freshen up a bit, and Sora turned around.

"Any minute now, Mimi will be here. I can't believe we pulled it off in an hour," she stated contently. Hikari chuckled and nodded her head in agreement.

"Not to mention that Taichi actually remembered to brin g the right cake," Sora added while turning to look at Taichi, who was sitting on the other side of Mrs. Tachikawa, but now next to Sora since Mrs. Tachikawa left. Taichi turned and made a face.

"You know, if you didn't think I would bring the right cake, you wouldn't have asked me to get it," he stated, moving over a bit to sit right next to Sora. Hikari smiled and got up to sit on the other side of Taichi, resting her head on his shoulder. Sora scoffed.

"Trust me, Taichi, no one else could have picked it up because it wasn't on their way, that's the only reason I asked _you_ to pick it up," she said crossing her arms at her chest. Taichi snorted and looked away.

"Fine, then don't ask me to do another favor for you guys, again, because I won't do it…" he stated in a childish way, getting up and walking away from the two of them. Hikari laughed and shook her head as Sora smiled, following him and apologizing. Hikari smirked as Sora gave him a hug. Sora had been friends with Taichi longer than anyone else in the room. It was natural for them to bicker and fight every second of every day.

Then the doorknob stated to rattle, and the room got silent. Sora ordered everyone to keep quiet; she swiftly went to turn the lights off, and then ran back next to Taichi.

Mimi opened the door clumsily, and everyone shouted: Surprise! Sora came over to her, turned the lights on, and gave a hug to a very surprised Mimi.

"Oh my god, you guys, all of this for me?!" Mimi squealed while stumbling around. Everyone came up to wish her a happy birthday. Sora could smell something odd, and it finally hit her that Mimi was completely drunk. She quickly pushed everyone away, and took Mimi's hand.

"Come on, Mimi. Let's get you changed into something more comfortable," Sora said to her. Mimi laughed for no apparent reason. Her cinnamon hair was flying everywhere, and her A-line skirt was wrinkled, along with her blouse.

"No way, let's party!" she shrieked. Everyone was raising an eyebrow at her odd behavior and Sora dragged her all the way to their room, with Mimi whining to her the whole way. Sora closed the door behind them.

"Mimi, what happened?" Mimi looked at Sora, puzzled. Her honey eyes were glossed over by drunkenness.

"Nothing happened! It's just my twenty-third birthday!" she screeched. Sora winced and sat down next to her. Hikari opened the door, and she and Miyako entered quietly.

"What's going on?" Miyako asked Sora, sitting down next to her. Hikari pulled up a chair and sat in front of everyone.

"I think she's drunk," Sora stated. Mimi started laughing hysterically at that comment, and fell back on the bed.

"Actually, I think she's completely wasted," Sora corrected while trying to pull Mimi back up to a sitting position.

"I'll get some water for her," Miyako offered, leaving the room. Hikari took Miyako's spot on the bed.

"Mimi, why were you drinking?" Hikari asked softly. Mimi was now playing with the ends of her hair, saying random things. She looked at Hikari.

"I wasn't drinking," she said with a slight giggle and then a hiccup. Miyako came back in with water and a gift bag. Sora took the glass of water from Miyako and held it up to Mimi's mouth. She protested, but Sora made her drink it all.

"She can wear the dress that I bought her and I told Taichi not to tell Mimi's parents that she's drunk," Miyako notified. Mimi's eyes widened.

"My parents are here?! Why are they here?!" she slurred. Sora patted her on the back.

"They're here for the party," she explained to the intoxicated girl.

"They're going to murder me, Sora!" she screamed. Sora sighed and motioned for Miyako to hand her the dress. Sora opened the package and helped Mimi undress and put on Miyako's present. Mimi was a complete mess. After they put the dress on her, Mimi refused to go outside and confront her parents.

"Mimi, people are waiting for you outside. It's your party. You're the reason everyone's here," Hikari explained, rubbing Mimi's arm for comfort. Mimi pouted.

"No! I'm not going out there. We can have a party in here!" she exclaimed jumping up and down. Sora was afraid that since the dress was strapless, it might just fall down completely.

"Mimi, if you're parents came to the party then they can't be angry with you, right?" Sora asked rhetorically. Mimi actually thought about if for a while, and cracked an odd smile.

"Alright," she slurred. Miyako and Hikari went out first, and then Sora and Mimi followed. When Mimi came out, Mrs. Tachikawa ran to her daughter and crushed her into a big embrace.

"Happy twenty-third birthday, honey!" she squealed in her womanly voice. Mimi didn't hug back and pulled away, mumbling a quick 'thanks' and then talking to everyone else. Mrs. Tachikawa looked hurt, but Mr. Tachikawa never did say happy birthday to her. He just sat there and ate.

Taichi went over to Hikari.

"Is she going to be alright?" he asked in a soft voice. Hikari shrugged her shoulders and turned to look at Taichi.

"I'm a little worried about her," she stated sadly. Taichi put an arm around his sister as Sora approached them.

"Mimi's bummed out, now. Maybe this whole party was a mistake," she stated with a frown and then she let out a frustrated groan, "I tried to make everything perfect but everything's gone wrong." Taichi grinned and put his other arm around her, as well.

"Well, at least I got the right cake," he stated with his lopsided grin. Hikari looked at Sora; they both nodded at each other and hit Taichi in the head at the same time. He let out a quick cry of pain, and rubbed his head with a frown.

"You try to make people feel better…," he mumbled to himself as he walked away. Hikari smiled and Sora laughed out loud.

Mimi, who threw up a few times, still was a little woozy, but it was definitely wearing off now. She was completely aware of the fact that her parents were in the apartment, and it looked as if her dad was still angry with her. She saw Koushiro walking up to her and she didn't even bother to put on a fake smile.

"Feeling better, birthday girl?" he asked as he took a seat next to her on the couch. Mimi cracked a smile.

"No…I wasn't expecting my parents to come, otherwise I would have put on my 'perfect little girl' act," she stated. Koushiro was about to answer when Taichi, Daisuke, Iori, and Takeru came over. Taichi took a seat on the other side of Mimi, and the other guys just sat on the floor around her.

"What are you all doing?" She asked, still a little nauseous. Daisuke grinned.

"Well, we don't want you to mope around on your birthday, so we came over to help you feel better," he said charmingly. Mimi grinned.

"Really? Well, enlighten me," she ordered, feeling a little better.

"We all got you a gift, and all of us chipped in," Taichi said, taking out a wrapped box from behind his back. Sora, Hikari, Miyako, Jyou, and Mrs. Tachikawa gathered around. Mr. Tachikawa never moved from his spot.

Mimi opened the box as quickly as she could, letting all the wrapping paper fall to the floor. She opened the box, and inside was teddy bear holding a heart which said: We Love You.

Mimi grinned and squealed.

"You guys are the best! I love you guys so much!" she cried. She gave each and every one of the guys a warm embrace, but when she got to Taichi, she stopped and gave him a deep kiss instead. Taichi sat there awkwardly, never really kissing back.

"You get some, Tai!" Daisuke hollered, and Miyako hit him on the head. Mimi pulled away, got up, and pushed her father away with her shoulder on her way to the kitchen. Everyone was quiet for a while, and Taichi sat on the couch, flushed.

"Well, I've learned something new today," Taichi started. Everyone stared at him, "get Mimi a nice gift every year." Daisuke and Takeru grinned, and even Koushiro chuckled at his comment. Hikari went up to him, pulled his cone-shaped hat, and let go so that it would hit his head nice and hard. Taichi let out another cry and glared at Hikari. Sora had already gone to the kitchen to see what was wrong, while Mrs. Tachikawa looked to floor in pain.

Mimi sat on the counter, swinging her legs. She was hoping that her father would just get the hint and leave. She didn't need him, and she didn't want him. She wondered why he was even here. Her mother probably forced him to come. She saw Sora walk in, and sit on the counter right next to her.

"Let's start from the beginning," Sora stated with a smile. Mimi looked at Sora's angelic face and smiled as well.

"So, why were you drunk?" she asked. Mimi winced and sighed. She had to explain sooner or later.

"Well, let's say that my birthday isn't something I want to remember," she spoke. Sora sat there confused. Mimi bit her lip.

"Last year, on my birthday, I was kicked out of my house…" she stated. Sora stared at her intently, waiting to hear more. Mimi's eyes welled up; she didn't want to go on.

"Why were you kicked out?" Sora asked steadily. Mimi looked away.

"Because I did something horrible," she cried. Sora rubbed her back and pulled her into an embrace, "I want him to leave, Sora. Get him out of here." Sora smiled.

"Well maybe you and your dad can patch things up now," Sora suggested. Mimi shook her head.

"I can't, Sora. I-I…you won't understand," she said softly, rubbing some of her tears away. Sora pulled her in for an embrace again, and rubbed her hair softly. For a minute, both of them didn't say anything, but Sora broke the silence.

"So…you feel bad, and the first person you want to kiss is Taichi?" Sora asked with a laugh, "I mean, Koushiro would have been ten times better, and he was next to you, too." Mimi laughed, rubbing away a few stray tears.

"That was just to get my father angry so he would leave…and I just picked one of them," she stated with a small smile. Sora grinned and tried to change the subject.

"Are you in the mood for sushi?" Sora asked motioning to the plates full of them. Mimi wiped away a few stray tears.

"Of course."

* * *

Hikari went around the table, picking up the last of the dirty plates. Dinner was very awkward. Mimi really didn't say anything but eat contently. The guys were just talking about normal male things such as sports or jobs (with Daisuke making some crack about Mimi's kiss with Taichi). Sora tried to break the silence between the girls and Mimi's parents but it didn't really work.

Currently, Sora was in the kitchen washing the dishes, Mimi was changing out of the dress Miyako had gotten her (after thanking and crushing her to death because she was unable to do so before due to her drunken condition), Iori, Koushiro, and Jyou went back to their apartments after wishing Mimi a happy birthday, Mr. and Mrs. Tachikawa left without really saying goodbye to their daughter, and the rest of the men were just sitting around on the couch.

Mimi came out in jeans, a plain pink camisole, and her hair in a braid. She saw Daisuke, Taichi, and Takeru huddled into a little group talking about something. She raised an eyebrow and walked over to them, leaning her head in really close so she could listen. All three of them stopped talking as soon as Mimi's head popped into their circle. Daisuke grinned.

"You know, Mimi. I chipped in to pay for the bear, too," he teased, puckering his lips. Mimi smirked, and shoved him a little, taking a seat on the couch next to Taichi. Takeru laughed, and Daisuke pouted playfully.

"What does he have that I don't?!" Mimi smiled and rested her head on Taichi's shoulder, not saying anything. Taichi grinned and brought his arms behind his head.

"Well, what can I say? Girls can't keep their hands off of me," he declared cockily. Daisuke rolled his eyes, and Takeru laughed even more. Mimi flicked Taichi's head and Taichi cried out in pain, again. He moved away from Mimi and sat on the other side of the couch.

"That's what everyone's been doing to me today! Why do all of you hit me when I say something you don't want to hear, but never smack any of them?" Taichi asked, pointing at Daisuke and Takeru. Mimi laughed and propped her legs on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Because you're so…I don't know, Taichi," She paused for a laugh and bit her lip, "because we all know you won't mind as long as you know we're happy." Mimi said looking at Taichi fondly. Taichi smiled, and as soon as Mimi looked away, he looked and Daisuke and Takeru, bobbing his eyebrows.

Sora walked in and smiled at everyone, taking a seat next to Mimi.

"So what's everyone chatting about?" She chirped. Takeru grinned.

"Mimi's newfound feelings for Taichi," he stated with a smirk. Sora rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, okay," she scoffed sarcastically, not believing it. Daisuke frowned.

"Nope, apparently _smacking_ him attracts women to him," he stated. Taichi grinned.

"No, it's my amazingly good looks," he stated, moving closer to Mimi and putting his arm around her. Sora sneered.

"Yeah, she only kissed you because you were the closest one to her on the couch," Sora stated. Mimi bit her lip, her face flushed.

"Uh- yeah, it didn't mean anything," Mimi said, giving Sora a look. Sora raised her eyebrows.

Hikari and Miyako entered giggling about something, and everyone turned around. Both stopped laughing.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Miyako asked, taking a seat next to Takeru, while Hikari gave him a quick smile and sat next to Daisuke.

"No, but it is getting kind of late, so I think I'm going to take off. Happy Birthday Mimi," Takeru said, getting up and walking towards the door. Everyone said their goodbyes and he left the apartment. Hikari noticed that he left his keys on the floor and she grinned. He definitely left those there on purpose.

"Oh, hey- Takeru left his keys. I'll go give them to him," she insisted, as she grabbed the keys and ran out the door. Daisuke rolled his eyes.

"How irresponsible is he?" he asked, shaking his head. Taichi rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I think Daisuke's getting tired, so we should head out, too" he stated, standing up. Daisuke made a face and got up as well. He gave a quick hug to Sora, Mimi, and Miyako.

"Happy birthday, Mimi!" he cheered. Taichi wrapped his arms around Sora, and she held him there for a while, saying something into his ear. Taichi smirked and pushed her a little. He went up to Mimi slowly and gave her a playful kiss on her lips. Daisuke and Miyako whistled and laughed. When Taichi pulled away, Mimi couldn't help but blush.

"What was that for?!" she screamed, trying not to look him in the eye. Taichi grinned.

"Happy Birthday, Meems," he said with a chuckle and left with Daisuke, who was begging Sora to give him a kiss, as well. Sora rolled her eyes and when the door closed behind the two men, she turned to Mimi and raised her eyebrows.

"So…that's why you picked to kiss Taichi before," she said with a smirk. Mimi looked away and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You told him to kiss me, didn't you? That's what you whispering," Mimi asked with a hint of anger in her voice. Sora laughed and Miyako praised Sora for thinking of that plan.

"Come on, Tai?! He's a big immature goofball. I don't see how you could have feelings for someone like that," Sora said with a smile. Mimi gave her a sour look.

"I never said that I had feelings for him," she retorted. Sora rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Mimi. Everyone noticed today."

Mimi looked the other way, knowing that she lost the battle.

"It's nothing but a physical attraction," she stated, looking at Sora, who tried to hold in her laughter.

"There's nothing to be attracted to!" she stated firmly. Miyako giggled and Mimi scoffed.

"Yes there is! Have you seen him shirtless?" Mimi asked. Sora rolled her eyes again.

"She's got a point! He does have an _impressive_ body," Miyako stated, getting off the floor.

Sora looked unimpressed and Mimi scowled.

"You only feel that way because he's like a brother to you," she stated. Sora laughed.

"True," she said softly, biting her lip and shaking her head.

"Well, I'm going to sleep, I'm exhausted," Miyako stated as she walked into her room and closed the door to change.

Sora paused for a second and then spoke to Mimi, "So…are you ever going to tell me what happened with your father?" Mimi looked at her surprisingly and bit her lip.

"When I'm ready," she replied softly. Sora smiled and nodded.

Hikari walked through the door, her cheeks a little flushed. Both Mimi and Sora looked up at her. She grinned awkwardly.

"I couldn't find Takeru in Jyou's apartment, so I ran outside and found him… so I just gave him his keys and came back," Hikari lied cautiously. Miyako walked out and heard the story. She raised her eyebrow, while Mimi and Sora nodded and talked about some other things. Hikari walked into the room she shared with Miyako and Miyako gave her a funny look.

"So where were you _actually_?" she asked her, crossing her arms over her chest and walking to her bed. Hikari bit her lip, and her mind raced to think of something. She couldn't tell Miyako that she was fooling around with Takeru on the stairs.

"You caught me…after I gave the keys to Takeru, I called up one of my friends…to get you a date," Hikari lied skillfully. Miyako raised an eyebrow.

"What? Why would you want to get me a date?" Miyako asked, snuggling into her bed sheets. Hikari smiled.

"Because I think it's time you got one. I mean, the last time you went out was before you broke up with Haru. I'm just trying to do you a favor. Friend to friend," she said as she got out her pajamas. Miyako looked at the ceiling.

"I know…but I don't need your help," she said softly.

"Okay, I'll call up my friend and tell her not to-"

"No! Never mind, I do want your help," Miyako said with a pout, sitting up in her bed. Hikari smiled and laughed. Now she had to find Miyako a date, and she regretted making up a stupid lie like that. After she changed, Hikari curled up in her bed and chatted with Miyako. They could hear Sora and Mimi walking into their room.

"Guess what?" Miyako whispered.

"What?" Hikari asked. Miyako grinned.

"Mimi's physically attracted to your brother," she replied softly. Hikari's eyes widened.

"Really? Wow, who would have thought," Hikari laughed.

"I know, but you're brother does have one nice body," she stated with a laugh. Hikari groaned.

"Okay, let's not talk about _that_," she stated disgustingly.

"It's true! I mean, girls are always chasing after him, now-a-days. Who would have thought that girls would go after future business leaders? I'm telling you, it's his body and his gorgeous eyes," Miyako said with a grin. Hikari chuckled softly.

"Okay, if I didn't know any better, Mimi wouldn't be the _only_ one physically attracted to my brother," she said with a giggle. Miyako rolled her eyes.

"I'm just stating the obvious. I don't have feelings for Taichi…but I do need to get a date," she said with a whine. Hikari smiled.

"Oh yeah."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! :D Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy!

* * *

At the smell of freshly brewed coffee, Mimi's eyelids instantly fluttered open. As she started raising her body from the comfort of her soft bed, she groaned at the pounding in her head. Almost instantly, everything that happened the night before returned and she couldn't help but sigh at her actions. She _really_ shouldn't have drank that much…

Running a few fingers through her cinnamon hair, Mimi got up cautiously and exited her room to find Sora and Miyako sitting at the small table. Miyako was on the phone with someone while Sora drank her coffee and read the newspaper. When Mimi started to approach them, Sora turned and smiled sweetly.

"Well, you're up a lot earlier than I expected."

Mimi smirked and sat down next to her, resting her head on the table.

"I feel too gross to sleep," she stated, groaning slightly. Miyako said her goodbyes to whoever was on the phone and grinned at Mimi.

"I'd feel gross too if I was as wasted as you were yesterday," she proclaimed with a chuckle. Mimi gave her a playful glare and sighed.

"I'm _such_ an idiot…" she whined. Miyako laughed and got up to get Mimi a cup of coffee. Sora rubbed Mimi's back comfortingly and smiled.

"Well at least it's Saturday, right?"

"I guess," she answered half-heartedly.

Daisuke walked into the girls' apartment room and smiled slightly. That was very unusual for him because he was a usually very exuberant and lively, even in the morning.

"Good morning…"

They all stared at him blankly and his smile immediately faltered. Sora laughed at this and shook her head.

"Dai, you should knock before you come in."

Miyako nodded, "Yeah, and why are you acting so...weird."

He sloppily took Miyako's seat and placed his head on the table like Mimi.

"I don't know what to do with my life!"

They all stared at him with slight confusion. When no one responded, Daisuke looked up with frustration.

"I-do-not-know-what-to-do-with-my-life." He emphasized. Mimi looked at him and quirked an eyebrow.

"Job wise?" she asked. Daisuke pouted and nodded his head. Daisuke was currently selling noodles for his father's company and everyone knew he wanted to start his own career path. He had went to college and gotten a degree business like Taichi, but soon realized he didn't want to do that either.

Sora chuckled and ruffled his hair from across the table.

"Then start searching, Dai. You have to explore. Find out what you like to do," she advised. Miyako agreed and gave Mimi a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, I mean, it took me forever to find out what I wanted to do, but once I figured it all out, I was completely satisfied," she stated. Miyako worked with computers, just like Koushiro, but for a different company. Daisuke looked at the two of them and scoffed.

"It's not _that_ easy! Where am I supposed to start?!"

When none of them said anything, Daisuke grunted and got up, leaving the room very quickly. Mimi laughed and sat up straight in her chair.

"That boy is crazy. You never know what's going to happen with Daisuke," she chuckled. Mimi had a job as a waitress at a restaurant down the street from their apartment. When Mimi was kicked out of her house, this was the first job she could get. It was at this restaurant that she realized she wanted a job in cuisine and cooking in the future.

Sora joined in with Mimi's laughter and added, "He reminds me so much of Taichi, its ridiculous."

At the mention of Taichi, Mimi's stomach fluttered and she immediately tried to mask the feelings she got at the thought of the bushy-haired man. Sora was quick to notice this anyway and shook her head, smirking. She didn't say anything out loud because she knew that Mimi got embarrassed whenever her 'feelings' were mentioned in the open.

"S-So where's Hikari?" Mimi quickly asked. Miyako looked at the clock and sighed.

"I don't know…she left about an hour ago, saying that she was running a few errands.

* * *

Hikari took a sip of her tea and gave that infamous Yagami smirk to the blonde haired man sitting in front of her.

"It was the best thing I could come up with! You know I can't lie, _Takeru_. And I thought I'd use Miyako's obsession with men to my advantage."

Takeru rolled his eyes and placed his elbows on the table between them. They both decided to go out for brunch at the local café shop by the apartment last night while they were fooling around on the staircase. When Hikari told Takeru about her 'lie' to Miyako last night, he had rolled his eyes obnoxiously.

"Miyako scares a lot of men away, _Hikari_," he stated simply, taking a sip of his coffee while smirking, as well, "It'll be nearly impossible to find her a guy that will actually stick with her."

Hikari glared at him slightly and sighed.

"I know Miyako's a little…enthusiastic when it comes to other men, but not _all_ men find it…scary?" she asked hypothetically. Takeru laughed and shook his head.

"Look, I love Miyako, okay? But you and I both know that Haru broke up with her for areason. If you want me to set someone up with Miyako, then how am I supposed to describe her?"

"I don't know, Takeru! Just say nice things about her. Talk about how she's very caring and always there when you need someone," Hikari suggested, taking another sip of her tea. Takeru shook his head.

"Okay, in 'guy' terms…if I say that crap to any man, I might as well bring Miyako over with a huge sign above her head that says 'Hi, I'm clingy,'" he joked, giving another smirk. Hikari glared and moaned.

"Come on, Takeru! You know a lot more guys than I do. There has to be _someone_ you can set Miyako up with. Anyone! It only has to be one date. I'm not asking you to find her life partner or anything," she begged. Takeru sighed and smiled.

"You know, if I didn't love you as much as I did, I wouldn't do it," he teased, leaning forward. Hikari laughed and placed a peck on his lips.

After a few seconds, Takeru grinned.

"I think I might know someone to set her up with!"

* * *

Koushiro sat at the kitchen counter table in his apartment, taking a bite out of his bagel. Daisuke had left the apartment a while ago in search of his "talent" so he could find his "place in the world", and Taichi was still sleeping…go figure.

Koushiro sighed and threw his bagel back onto the plate. He didn't _hate_ Taichi…no he could never hate Taichi. It just frustrated Koushiro that Taichi got all the attention and recognition while he got nothing.

Honestly, why would Mimi fall for _Taichi_?

He has no manners whatsoever. He'd rather sit on the couch and be lazy than clean the apartment. He snores so loudly in his sleep that it could probably wake up the whole building. He flirts with so many girls, and it's nearly impossible to tell whether or not he's being serious about _anything._

Koushiro made a face and sighed again. No, he shouldn't be thinking this way about his best friend. Just because Mimi didn't feel anything towards Koushiro didn't mean that Taichi didn't deserve Mimi's admiration.

In all honesty, Taichi is very polite—when needed, of course—and even though he's lazy, he's always there for Koushiro. He's also becoming very successful and responsible because of his job. Mimi couldn't have fallen for anyone better…

"Damn, what time is it?"

Koushiro turned around at the voice.

The prince was _finally_ awake.

Koushiro coughed slightly and looked back at his bagel.

"I don't know, almost 12, I guess…"

Taichi rubbed his eyes, walking around in nothing but his dinosaur pajama pants. He groaned and took a seat next to Koushiro and rested his elbows on the counter. Koushiro looked at him for a second and scoffed to himself. Taichi's well sculpted abs and tanned skin made Koushiro's skinny body and pale complexion look terrible.

"I love sleeping in, Koushiro. I don't get to do it that much anymore because of work," he stated with a slight yawn. Taichi worked for a huge company and was slowly making his way towards the top. But his goal to get promoted meant a lot of work during most hours of the day. The weekends were his only break but even then, sometimes, he had to carry over some extra paperwork that he couldn't finish.

Koushiro couldn't understand why he envied his best friend so much…but most of the reasons were because of a certain cinnamon-haired beauty. Koushiro had fallen for Mimi Tachikawa two weeks after she moved in with Sora, Hikari, and Miyako. Mimi had walked into his apartment while he was on his laptop, finishing up some work. She asked him why he liked to hide behind his laptop when there was so much more he could be doing. Mimi had dragged him out of the building and forced him to get coffee with her and for some reason he couldn't help but develop some sort of attraction towards her.

"That's nice, Taichi," he said abruptly before getting up and heading towards his bedroom, which he shared with Daisuke. Taichi had his own room, but it was much smaller. Taichi raised an eyebrow and watched him.

"Is everything okay?"

Koushiro looked at him and gave the fakest smile he could muster.

"Of course, Taichi, what could possibly be wrong?"

* * *

"Hey, do you want to go shopping?"

Mimi looked up from the couch and saw Sora's body emerge from their room. Hikari had come back about two hours ago and took Miyako out to lunch so they could talk about something. Mimi's face lit up and she grinned, feeling much better than she had this morning.

"Of course!"

Sora laughed and picked up her purse. Mimi looked at her incredulously and stood up.

"Wait! Let me at least brush my hair and put some better clothes on," she exclaimed, running into their room, trying to change out of the sweats that she was in. Sora smiled and shook her head.

"Mimi, I really doubt we have anyone to impress at the mall." Sora heard shuffling from their room and a scoff from Mimi.

"Well, _actually_, you never know who you might bump into. I might meet my future husband there for all I know-" she said from inside the room. While opening the door she finished with, "better safe than sorry, right?"

Sora rolled her eyes and looked at Mimi's new attire. She wore a nice, simple, cotton summer dress with her hair nicely combed. It made Sora's jeans and plain sky blue tunic top look underdressed.

"Well, if he's my future husband then I shouldn't have to impress him with my looks. He should be attracted to me for my personality, of course," Sora retorted with a smirk as she opened the front door. Mimi chuckled and followed her.

"Okay, Sora, like a guy is going to take notice of you because of your personality. Attraction is always the first step and if you don't look good enough, your future husband might look right over you."

"Then he wouldn't be my future husband, would he?" Sora stated with a smirk. Mimi made a face and sighed.

They walked through the hall and down the stairs till they reached Sora's car. It wasn't any special car, just one that Sora could afford: a red Honda Civic. They both got in and Sora pulled out of their apartment parking lot and drove towards the closest mall. Mimi smiled in anticipation and rolled down the window, letting some cool air diffuse the hot, stuffy, humid air that occupied the car.

"Do you think I'll ever find a husband?"

Sora looked at Mimi for a second and raised her brow at this question.

"Of course, Mimi, why wouldn't you find one?"

Mimi sighed and answered, "I don't know, I've just never had a relationship that felt right and lasted long enough…it just seems impossible to find someone, you know? And now that I've lost another year-" she paused, putting emphasis on her birthday from yesterday with a grouchy look, "it just seems so hopeless."

Sora kept quiet for a second, thinking while she drove. Sora wasn't the right person to talk to about relationships…_hers_ didn't work out either. Putting the painful memories aside, Sora tried to lighten the mood.

"What, you don't think _Taichi's_ the one?"

Mimi's face quickly flushed and she looked out the window. Sora laughed, but kept her eyes on the road.

"Come on, Mimi, you know you can talk to me about it."

"I don't know, Sora, okay? I'm very confused with Taichi."

"I thought you just had a _physical_ attraction. What happened to that, huh? I don't think there's anything confusing about a physical attraction," Sora teased, snickering but still pestering Mimi about it. Mimi let out a frustrated sigh and crossed her arms at her chest.

"Fine, maybe it's more than _physical_. I don't know, Sora. I don't want to fall for him too hard…just in case," Mimi explained softly, thinking about her last boyfriend, "I don't want to get hurt. Even though I know Taichi wouldn't hurt me."

Sora nodded and agreed.

"I know Taichi. He would never hurt or ridicule you about your feelings. He might be a jerk sometimes and super conceited, but he's not the type of guy to treat girls like that."

Sora turned into the mall entrance and started looking around for a parking spot available.

"Yeah…there's something about him, So-"

"And I still don't see what it is," Sora cut off, grinning. Mimi gave a playful glare and nudged her softly.

"You don't see it because you've known him for so long that you're used to him and his personality. I mean—he's different than the guys I used to know back at home. Not only is he successful, he's sweet, caring, funny, and very, _very_ good-looking. Not to mention the whole conceited act that he has is actually kind of hot," Mimi explicated, bobbing her eyebrows as Sora parked the car. Sora made a face and groaned.

"Okay, please, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little." Mimi laughed at Sora's words and straightened herself before opening the car door and heading out.

"It's only because he's like a brother to you," Mimi proclaimed. Sora smiled and also exited the car, placing her purse on her shoulder.

"It's true. You guys don't have to keep reminding me," Sora laughed.

They headed towards the building and Sora quickly turned to look at her best friend.

"Why don't you just tell him?"

Mimi's eyes bulged and she stopped in her tracks.

"Are you kidding me?! How can I tell him anything when I'm confused?!" she overreacted. Sora pulled Mimi to the sidewalk and chuckled.

"I mean, it's pretty obvious you feel something towards him. I'm sure Taichi has a pretty good idea that you do after yesterday. Why not just flat out tell him?" Sora suggested as they walked into the building. They were bombarded with the scents of different perfumes almost instantly. The building was bright with many windows all over and also busy with many people.

"Because I don't want to say anything until I know Taichi feels the same way," Mimi said, crossing her arms at her chest again. Sora looked at her hesitantly as they walked towards the escalator.

"But…what if he doesn't feel the same way?"

Mimi looked to the ground and sighed. Almost abruptly, her cheerful mood turned into that of sullenness. Sora noticed this and nudged her sympathetically. Mimi had fallen very hard for Taichi Yagami, even though Mimi didn't want to admit it to herself.

"Guys have always liked me back, Sora. Well…that's not true. Guys have usually liked me first and have asked me out _first._ I'd say yes and that's usually how I found my boyfriends. This time, though, _I'm_ the one who started having feelings first, and I'm not used to this at all. I don't know what to do. I don't want Taichi to reject my feelings and-"

"Mimi, you have nothing to lose by trying. If he doesn't feel the same way then its okay, because at least you'd _know_." Sora advised. Mimi sighed and ran a few fingers through her hair as they walked into their first store. Mimi quickly caught her eye on something pink and started walking towards it at full speed.

"I guess…okay I don't want to talk about it anymore, let's shop."

* * *

Jyou sighed as he entered his apartment room, taking off his coat and throwing it on the rack. He was lucky. He'd just gotten off early from his classes. He had just started interning at the nearby hospital but he wasn't scheduled to be there today, luckily.

He went to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. He quickly chugged half of it down and made his way to the couch, closing his eyes and resting his head on the top of it.

Takeru walked out of his room, chattering to someone on his cell phone. Jyou shut his eyes tightly and wrinkled his forehead. He could feel a really bad headache coming on. God, he worked way too much.

"Yeah, Hikari wants to meet you first and _then_ introduce you to my friend, Miyako…Trust me, man, she's a great person, I think you'll like her…Oh yeah, I forgot that you're always really busy…that could work, how long is your lunch break? … Okay perfect, I'll see you at three o'clock tomorrow then…okay bye!" Takeru sighed and took a seat next to Jyou. Jyou opened one eye and looked at Takeru through his glasses.

"What was that all about?"

Takeru sighed and shook his head.

"Hikari wants to hook Miyako up with someone and asked me to set her up with one of my friends."

Jyou turned and looked at Takeru knowingly.

"Are you sure you want to do that? You're friend might kill you after this…" he stated jokingly, smirking ever so slightly. Takeru grinned and placed his hands behind his head.

"I know, man, I told Hikari that it's impossible to set Miyako up with anyone because she scares every guy away, but Hikari won't listen to me. If I lose a friend because of Miyako, I'm going to get Hikari back for this," he playfully said with a laugh. Jyou smiled and closed his eyes again which led Takeru to look at him worriedly.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?"

Jyou let out a sigh and groaned.

"Yeah, just tired." Takeru nodded, understanding that Jyou always had a lot of pressure and work. Jyou opened his eyes again, though, and looked around the room.

"Where is Iori? He doesn't have classes on weekends, does he?"

Takeru looked around and furrowed his brows.

"No, he doesn't. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Iori since early this morning," Takeru informed.

Jyou sighed and shook his head. This was very odd for Iori; he always went to class and came back to the apartment. On weekends, he'd usually lock himself in his room and study.

"What is up with him, Takeru? I'm starting to worry," Jyou sighed, looking at the younger boy next to him. Takeru bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders, picking up his phone again.

"Let me call him and see where he is."

* * *

Daisuke sighed as he walked slowly back to the apartment, kicking the same pebble on the sidewalk that he had been for the past five minutes. What was he thinking? It was impossible to find his talent because…did he even have one? He glared at the ground and sighed.

He really envied everyone. Sora was a worker for one of the top fashion companies in Tokyo but very soon, Daisuke didn't doubt that she would launch her own clothing design. Taichi was slowly making his way to the top of his company and becoming a true, hardworking businessman. Koushiro and Miyako both knew they had a passion for computers, even though they worked at different companies. Takeru was becoming a very popular journalist and even wrote many top stories. Hikari was well on her way to becoming the teacher she always dreamed of being, and given a few more years, Jyou would be the most successful doctor around. Iori would make a load of money being a lawyer and even Mimi knew what she wanted to do with her life; Mimi wanted to become a cook…or something like that.

Why did everyone know what they wanted? Why was everyone already on their paths to success while Daisuke sat around on his lazy ass and wasted his life away until he finally realized how hopeless he was? It just wasn't fair.

He'd already taken a long walk, pondering what his options were. He definitely didn't want to sell noodles for the rest of his life. He also didn't want to become a businessman like Taichi, even though Daisuke already had a degree in business. What about…computers, like Koushiro and Miyako? If two people in the group liked computers, there must be something fascinating about them, right?

Daisuke hit his head with his palm and sighed. He didn't know how to do anything on the computer but search for porn. He was hopeless; absolutely and completely hopeless. He was going to die being a noodle-seller and forever be known as the "Noodle Man" to people who didn't know his name. On 'Occupation Day' at school, Daisuke's kids would to have to bring in their father, "The Noodle Man". How life fulfilling was that?

Daisuke forced his hands into his pockets as he neared the apartment building. He turned at the sound of voices behind him and grimaced as Mimi and Sora laughed about their amazing trip to the mall.

They had no right to be happy while he was miserable.

Mimi noticed Daisuke and grinned, nudging him.

"What's with the sullen look, Daisuke? No one should be bummed on a beautiful day like this!" she exclaimed, lifting her many shopping bags to show Daisuke. Daisuke huffed and crossed his arms at his chest.

"I think I'm going to change my name."

Sora looked at the younger boy and quirked a fine brow.

"I'm scared to ask what you're going to change it too…" she smiled, walking up the stairs to get to their room. Daisuke followed her with Mimi and lifted his eyebrows.

"How does "Oodles of Noodles" sound? Better yet, what about-"

"Dai, stop it. You'll find yourself a meaningful job, I promise you. There are so many options! Why don't you take one of those tests? You know, the ones where they tell you what job is right for you based on a few questions," Sora suggested, digging for her key in her purse. Daisuke decided to hang around in their apartment instead of going back to his.

Daisuke rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall.

"Sora, I hate tests."

Mimi chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"Don't worry, Daisuke, you'll find the right job."

Sora finally opened the door and walked in, followed by Mimi and Daisuke. Daisuke quickly went to their couch and collapsed on it, burying his face in the arm of the couch. Sora went to her room to put her bags away and came back to the living room, smiling at Daisuke. Even when he was upset about something like this, no one ever took him seriously.

"Hey, Sora, do you know where that bear that all the guys got me went?" Mimi asked, looking around the living room for it. Sora furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"No, I haven't seen it. Where did you put it yester-"

"Have either of you seen Dai?" Taichi interrupted, walking into the girls' apartment. Sora looked at him and glared as Daisuke raised his hand to answer Taichi's question, even though his head was still buried in the couch.

"Why do you always cut me off?" Sora asked, crossing her arms at her chest. Taichi grinned and bumped purposely into Sora as he made his way to Daisuke. Mimi's face started to blush as she remembered that the last time she saw Taichi, he had kissed her.

"Because you talk too much," he stated, poking Daisuke to see if he was still alive. Sora glared and rolled her eyes as he continued to speak, "Come on, Daisuke, that soccer game's about to start. Stop moping around and watch with me."

Daisuke mumbled something into the couch that no one could understand. Sora went to stand next to Mimi and watched the two boys. Taichi pulled Daisuke up with one arm and gave him a questioning look.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Daisuke glared and sat up straight.

"I'm having an identity crisis."

Sora hit her head with her hand and shook her head while Mimi giggled. Taichi raised his eyebrows and made a face.

"What are you talking about? You're _Daisuke_. There, crisis averted. Now let's go watch the game," he ordered, yanking Daisuke to his feet. Mimi examined Taichi and noticed that he was wearing a tight white tee-shirt with blue jeans. She couldn't stop staring at him and Taichi noticed quickly. With a wink and a grin in her direction he started shoving Daisuke out the door.

"Bye, Meems," He said flirtatiously, leaving Mimi to smile back timidly. Sora rolled her eyes.

"Okay, Taichi, don't say bye to me." She stated with a slight, playful glare. She didn't mind it, though. She liked that Taichi was showing some interest in Mimi. Taichi laughed and pushed Daisuke out of the room.

"Okay, I won't."

With that he left and closed the door behind him. Sora sighed and looked at her best friend, who was still a slight shade of pink.

"He's so irritating, I can't understand why you feel anything towards him," she stated with a scoff, heading towards to kitchen to fix something to eat. Mimi smiled and looked at the door.

"I can't understand it, either."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's the next chapter!

* * *

The sun shined brightly through the motel window and illuminated the bed in the middle of the room. Iori's eyes flickered open and he groaned at the intense light shining down on him. He turned to his right, lying on his side to get rid of the annoying radiance that was ruining his sleep. His hand grazed the smooth skin of the woman next to him, sleeping soundly in spite of the brightness.

Opening his green eyes, Iori smiled at the sight of the sleeping form beside him: Akina Arai. Her dark brown hair fell gracefully around her face in a bob haircut. Iori moved some of her hair out of her face and she murmured blissfully, a smile forming on her pink lips. She then opened her light blue eyes and Iori gazed into them.

"Good morning," she mumbled, rubbing her face and moving so she was on her back. Iori kept his smile and sighed. Then reality hit him and he sat up with a jolt.

"Damn…It's morning. We never went home last night…"

Akina realized this and widened her cerulean eyes. How could she be this irresponsible and stay out all night; and in a _motel_ nonetheless?

"Iori," she groaned, "how could we be so careless?!" Akina quickly got up and started to put her clothes back on from the previous day. Iori watched her and looked back at the sheets. It was an amazing night and he wished it hadn't ended so quickly. He sighed again and fell back onto the bed. At least it was Sunday now.

"I don't know how I'm going to explain this to my friends…especially Jyou," Iori explained. Akina looked at him and gave a slight glare; her bob haircut was now getting a little messy.

"What am I supposed to tell Rei?! He's going to wonder where his wife was all night," she stated, trying to put on her shoes hastily. Iori winced at her words and a sudden guilt filled his chest. Did she have to be so blunt about it? He knew she was married but did she have to keep reminding him constantly. She was just as guilty as he was.

"This was wrong, Iori, this shouldn't have happened. We got out of control. How could we be this careless, goddamnit," she cursed to herself, racking a few frantic fingers through her soft hair. Iori got up and put on his boxers. He walked over to her and took hold of her shoulders.

"Look, calm down. We'll figure this out," he soothed. Akina stared into his eyes and instantly calmed down. Iori was always very calm and always knew how to make her feel better, even in the worst of situations. She leaned up and kissed his lips again, forgetting her husband and morals. Iori gladly returned it and pulled away after a few seconds.

"Since its morning already, there's no use in trying to get back to our homes any time soon. Let's go get breakfast," he suggested, running his fingers through her chocolate hair. Akina bit her lip hesitantly but smiled. She couldn't resist Iori—the sound of his raspy voice, the look of his green eyes, the feel of his silky brown hair.

"That doesn't seem like a bad idea," she smiled, running her hands down his chest. She remembered when she first met Iori during their first year at Law School. He had this goofy, brown, bowl haircut and nerdy clothes. Now in their second year, he had changed so much. He spiked his hair up a little bit and finally learned how to dress himself nicely. Akina and Iori had been in many of the same classes and clicked quickly. She never thought that she'd ever do anything like _this_ with Iori…never in a million years.

Iori turned to put on his shirt and pants. He really didn't know how he was going to explain this to Jyou. How was he going to explain being out all night? Iori sighed and turned to look at Akina again. She was checking her cell phone with a morbid look on her face.

"I have about fifteen missed calls. I guess he gave up after that…"

Iori really didn't want to hear about her husband. Honestly, he wished she didn't have one so he could have her all to himself.

"Akina, just tell him that you were at the Campus Library studying all night and you had your phone on silent so you didn't know he was calling," he advised. Akina looked at him with the biggest guilt on her face and ran more nervous fingers through her hair.

"Iori…do you regret that this happened?"

Iori looked at her fully this time and smiled.

"How could I ever regret it? I wouldn't have let it happen if I didn't want it, Akina," he reassured, walking up to her again and placing some hair behind her ear. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist. Iori was always the awkward type but with Akina, he never felt uncomfortable.

"I don't know…I feel like I should regret it. A little part of me does because of Rei but…I can't seem to regret it," she vented, looking up into Iori's eyes again. Iori winced slightly at her comment but she pulled him closer to her, her cotton white shirt becoming more wrinkled.

"How about we just get some breakfast?" he asked quickly, trying to change the topic. Akina sighed and gave a half-hearted smile.

* * *

Hikari grinned cheekily and turned to look at the apprehensive lavender-haired girl. Currently on their way to the café, Miyako and Hikari walked at a slow pace on the sidewalk. Miyako sighed and slowed the pace even more.

"I don't know about this, Hikari…" Miyako stated softly, pushing up her glasses. Hikari furrowed her brow and nudged her best friend.

"Why not?! I thought you were excited!"

Miyako pursed her lips and came to a complete stop before stating, "But what if he doesn't like me?"

Hikari smiled sweetly and took Miyako's hand, dragging her closer to the café.

"You worry too much, Miyako. I'm sure he'll like you."

Miyako glowered and took in a sharp breath as they stood outside the café. Hikari pulled her in and looked around for Takeru and Miyako's blind date.

"Hikari, Miyako, over here!"

Hikari turned at the sound of Takeru's voice and smiled. Before Miyako could question why Takeru was in the café, she noticed the very handsome man next to him, idly sipping his coffee. His navy hair came effortlessly to his shoulders. His eyes were a very dark shade of blue and his skin was so perfectly pale, he looked like a porcelain doll. Miyako didn't even notice that Hikari was dragging her closer to the beautiful man.

As they both approached the table, Miyako stupidly stood there with her mouth slightly agape. Why did Hikari set her up with a hot guy?! A hot guy out of her league, nonetheless!

The beautiful man turned and looked up at Miyako, smiling gently at her apprehensive face.

"Hello, my name is Ken," he introduced, standing up and holding out his hand. Miyako stared for a little bit longer until Hikari nudged her and motioned for her to shake his hand. Miyako quickly shook it and pulled back.

"My name is Miyako," she mumbled quickly. Hikari took a seat across Takeru, and Miyako glowered when she noticed she had to sit across Ken. Hikari gave a sneaky smirk to Takeru who smiled and bobbed his brows.

"So, how are you both today?" Ken asked Hikari and Miyako. Hikari smiled and answered sweetly while Miyako mumbled something nervously and bit her nail. A period of silence fell on the four café customers and only the jittery tapping of Miyako's foot could be heard.

"So…I have some work to do at home…"

"Yeah I have some errands to run…"

Takeru and Hikari smirked at each other and got up after those statements, obviously wanting to leave the two to get to know each other. Ken sat there coolly, saying a nice "goodbye" to both of them while Miyako looked at Hikari wide-eyed.

"B-But, Hikari…!"

"I'll see you at home, Miyako," Hikari announced, leaving quickly with Takeru. As the bell above the door rang as two left, Miyako and Ken looked at each over quizzically and quickly looked down. How awkward was this?

* * *

Mimi smiled, wrapping a towel around her head to prevent it from dripping all over the place; taking a shower was renewing. Everything that had been bothering her washed away and now she felt refreshed. Sighing, she opened the door and walked into the living room, only to stop in her tracks to see Taichi sitting at the table, eating toast and reading the paper.

Feeling ugly with the towel around her hair and the atrocious baggy attire she was wearing, Mimi quickly threw her towel onto the ground and shakily walked towards the object of her affection. He was currently wearing a white beater and sweat pants. God, did he look sexy.

When Taichi heard her approaching, he turned and gave her a smile.

"Morning, Meems," he stated, motioning for her to sit across from him at the table. Mimi willingly obliged.

"W-Where's Sora?" she asked, trying to smile and not look him in the eyes. Taichi dropped his newspaper on the wooden table and shrugged.

"I don't know, I came in and she told me that she had a few things to do and left. She told me you were in the shower so I waited until you finished," he grinned. Mimi cursed Sora in her mind. She knew that Sora did this on purpose.

"Ugh…Sora," she whined a little too loudly. Taichi looked at her and raised a brow, leaving Mimi to blush in her seat, "Sorry, I-Its just that I needed some milk and I forgot to tell Sora before she left."

Taichi didn't recognize her lie and chuckled.

"Sora always messes things up, doesn't she?" he smirked, taking a big bite out of his heavily buttered toast. Mimi scowled playfully. She loved talking to him.

"Hey, she's my best friend, you're not allowed to say stuff like that in front of me," she stated, crossing her arms. Taichi laughed and mimicked her actions.

"Excuse me? I've known Sora _way_ longer than you have. I think she's more _my_ best friend than yours. So, I'm allowed to make fun of her as much as I want," Taichi announced immaturely. Mimi laughed and rolled her eyes at the man in front of her.

"Whatever you say, Taichi, whatever you say."

Taichi grinned and eyed Mimi humorously.

"You know, your hair looks good wet," he stated sarcastically while bobbing his brows. Mimi flushed again and felt embarrassed by the huge puddle of water forming on the table from her hair. She should have just kept that towel on.

"Stop analyzing my hair," she pouted, coming a few fingers through it. Taichi grinned that famous grin of his and leaned back in the chair.

"Why? People always analyze my hair."

"That's because it's huge."

"No! It's because it's sexy."

Mimi bit her lip for a second. She couldn't deny that it was sexy but she didn't want to give in to him.

"Stop being so conceited, Taichi," she laughed off. Taichi smiled and quickly looked at her, his smile slowly fading. Mimi bit her lip and quirked a brow, waiting for him to speak.

"You know, Meems, I only kissed you on Friday because Sora told me to… I don't want you to think I was taking advantage of you after you kissed me to make your father angry," he explained with slight guilt. Mimi's heart kind of fell. She knew that Sora had told Taichi to kiss her at the end of the party, but she didn't want to believe it.

"I-I know, Taichi. I'm sorry I used you to make my father angry," she apologized unenthusiastically, "You don't have to listen to Sora all the time, you know."

Mimi looked at the table with a slight glare. Sora really did mess things up.

Taichi chuckled and shook his head.

"Yeah, I know. But she's like another sister to me. I've got a sore spot for Sor," he stopped to grin, "I feel bad when I don't listen to her. She's like another Hikari."

Mimi laughed and sat for a second. Then another thought hit her.

"Wait, how did you know I wanted to make my father angry?"

Taichi bit his lip and sat up straight in his chair, leaning forward, now.

"Well Sora said it at the party, remember? When everyone was joking around about you having feelings for me," he started, leaving Mimi to blush like crazy. So, he didn't really believe that Mimi had feelings for him; he thought his friends were just joking around. Interesting, "Well I called Sora up the next morning, really early, to make sure you were okay. We got to talking and she mentioned it again. I mean, I told her I felt guilty for kissing you later on, and she told me not to worry about it but, you know me, I don't like doing stuff like that to my friends."

Mimi felt bittersweet. Sweet because Taichi had worried enough about her to call Saturday morning, but bitter to know that he only thought of her as a good friend. Maybe she should just tell him now, right? No, she couldn't do that. She had to wait for Taichi to fall for her, too. She didn't want to get heartbroken.

"I mean, I don't mind kissing some random girl, you know? Hook up for a night and then never see her again. That's fine with me, but I can't do _that_ to a friend. Even though we didn't hook up or anything, we just kissed."

God, he just needed to stop talking. Mimi was ready to smack him at this point. Why couldn't he understand!? Wasn't it pretty obvious that Mimi had feelings for him? Maybe he was just in denial or maybe he was just thick-headed. The worst part was that he wasn't uncomfortable talking like this at all. Mimi, on the other hand, was fidgeting in her seat.

"Mmhm," she agreed, not able to say anything more.

"So, I'm sorry Meems. I don't want you to think I'm a pig or anything…" he trailed, smiling at her innocently. Mimi rolled her eyes slightly. No, his last remark _definitely_ didn't make him sound like a pig.

"Its okay, Taichi, there's nothing to be sorry about," she stated with a smile to mirror his. Taichi sighed and leaned back into his chair.

"Good! Now I won't feel all guilty."

Mimi chuckled and stood up. She was kind of bummed at the thought of just being Taichi's friend.

"Alright, Taichi, I'm going to go dry my hair. I'll see you later," she stated, walking towards the bathroom and picking up her towel on the way there.

Taichi smiled and said a quick "bye" as he shoved the rest of the toast into his mouth.

* * *

Ken looked at Miyako and sighed to himself. They'd been sitting there for the past half hour now and had barely spoken a word to each other. Takeru had mentioned Miyako being very loud and talkative but this was the complete opposite of that.

"So, where do you work?" he asked her, placing his head on his hand. Miyako looked up and then back down at the table.

"I work for a computer company in software enhancing…what about you?"

Ken quirked a brow. That was the first question she'd asked him this whole time.

"Well, I'm a detective for the Tokyo Police Force."

This caught Miyako's attention and she raised her brows. Damn, he was hot and had a cool job.

"Really? Wow, that's way more interesting than my job," she stated with a smile. Ken chuckled. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

"Yeah, I guess the badge and gun make it a little more adventurous."

"So, have you ever been, like, shot at?" Miyako asked fascinatingly. She didn't realize how immature the question was. Ken laughed, finding her, suddenly, very cute.

"Actually, I think I have been shot at a few times. Never actually got shot before, though," he explained with a smile. That just made him seem even sexier to Miyako. His deep voice and piercing eyes were just so captivating. Her nerves started to diminish a little.

"That's got to be exhilarating, being out in the world, chasing bad guys!"

Ken took a sip of his cold coffee and nodded.

"In a way it is, but sometimes it can get to be too much, you know?"

Miyako shook her head, understanding that the hardships of being a cop must be intense.

"S-So what are some of your other hobbies?" she asked shakily. Ken thought about it for a while. He never had much time to do anything else other than work.

"Well…I used to play a lot of soccer when I was younger, before my work took over my life," he stated. Miyako grinned at this.

"You'd get along well with my friends Taichi and Daisuke, then. They're soccer maniacs," she informed, resting her arms on the table. Ken chuckled.

"That's cool, I'd love to meet them sometime," he stated. There was another awkward silence until Miyako spoke again.

"So, how do you know Hikari and Takeru?"

"Well, I met Takeru two months ago when he was writing a story for the newspaper about one of the cases I'd just solved. He interviewed me over a cup of coffee and we became friends. I just met Hikari today when I met you," he explained with a smile. Miyako quirked a brow and looked at the man in front of her.

"You're too cool to hang out with Takeru," she complimented, smiling while pushing her glasses up. Ken smiled back and leaned forward.

"And you're a lot cuter than Takeru described."

* * *

Daisuke groaned, sulking around the apartment in his pajamas still. He was going to die alone and poor. He knew it. He was going to have a depressing job for the rest of his life. He was going to-

"Daisuke, will you stop moping around? Goddamn," Taichi stated, walking out of his room with a few papers in his hand; probably some extra paperwork he needed to finish. Daisuke moaned from the couch and shut his eyes.

"Just let me live in my misery, sheesh."

Taichi rolled his eyes and sat down on the counter, looking at the papers in his hand.

"At least you're allowed to mope around. I can't sulk when I've got so much shit to do for work," he explained, trying to rub the tiredness out of his eyes. Daisuke glared.

"At least you're going somewhere in life!"

Taichi chuckled and rolled his eyes again.

"Calm down, will you? If I can find something to do with my life so can you," he stated. Daisuke didn't reply and stuck his face in the couch. Why did his life suck?

"What if I end up homeless?" he mumbled.

"Then you can come live with me. Don't worry," Taichi stated with a smirk. Daisuke didn't answer again and Taichi turned back to his work.

Koushiro entered the apartment and averted Taichi's look. He placed the mail from yesterday, which they forget to get, on the table. Taichi raised his brow and watched the red head. He knew something was bothering Koushiro but they'd barely talked since Friday so Taichi didn't want to push him.

"Hey, Koushiro, where've you been?" Taichi asked. Koushiro had his back facing the brown-haired man as he looked through the refrigerator for something to drink.

"Out."

Taichi looked at him a little hurt. He didn't like when his close friends acted this way towards him.

"Oh really, where?"

Koushiro didn't turn around, opening his can of soda with his back still facing Taichi.

"Just out."

Taichi glared and dropped his papers on the table.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

Koushiro turned around and didn't say anything, walking towards Daisuke and the couch, taking a seat nonchalantly. Koushiro knew that the best way to soothe an angry Taichi—or tick him off even more, in this case—was to ignore him. Taichi grumbled something about 'moody roommates' and walked towards his room, slamming the door.

"You know, you shouldn't piss Taichi off when he's stressed. He's been working since breakfast," Daisuke explained, looking at the red-haired man. Koushiro shrugged his shoulders and sighed. Daisuke got up and walked towards the mail. He looked through each envelope but one caught his eye. He picked it up and saw that it was for Taichi...

Daisuke's eyes widened and he looked down to see that both he and Koushiro also had the same envelope addressed to them. Daisuke called for Koushiro to come to the counter and Koushiro walked up.

Koushiro's eyes also widened when he saw the envelopes. Koushiro cautiously looked in the direction of Taichi's room. Even though he was being resentful of Taichi, Koushiro didn't want to hurt Taichi with this envelope.

"What should we do? Should we give him the envelope?" Daisuke asked, looking at Koushiro with hesitance. Koushiro bit the insides of his mouth.

"Of course we should, Daisuke. Here, I'll give it to him," and with that Koushiro walked towards Taichi's door and knocked softly. Daisuke followed Koushiro and watched as he knocked again, a little louder.

"What?!" Taichi barked from the other side. Daisuke was scared to give Taichi the envelope with him in a cranky mood to begin with, but Koushiro didn't falter.

"Tai…something came for you in the mail that I think you might want to see…"

There was a few mumbles until Taichi finally opened the door. He gave a glare to Koushiro, but when Koushiro held up the pearl white envelope, Taichi paled when he saw the name of the person who had sent it. Taichi took the envelope and slowly walked to the counter, Daisuke and Koushiro following.

"Is he fucking serious…?"

Daisuke and Koushiro kept quiet as Taichi stared at the envelope. After a few seconds he tore it open and read the invitation inside. Disgusted with what it said, he quickly threw it in the trash and glared at the counter. Daisuke placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"What was it, Taichi?"

Taichi didn't answer, taking a seat on the chair by the counter. Koushiro opened his envelope and read the invitation, sighing.

"It's a wedding invitation…"

Daisuke looked over Koushiro's shoulder and his eyes widened.

"He's seriously inviting us to his wedding after not communicating with us for _three years_?" Daisuke asked incredulously. Taichi kept quiet, placing his elbows on the counter and bringing his hands, fingers laced, to his closed mouth.

_You are cordially invited to the wedding of Yamato Ishida and Hitomi Aikawa._

That bastard.

Taichi sighed and looked at his two roommates.

"We can't let Sora see this…"

* * *

A/N: Dun Dun Dun Dunnnnn...review! haha


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

A/N: Things are really heating up now! haha leave a review pleaseee!

* * *

Jyou sighed with exasperation as he exited the hospital and walked towards the busy city road. He'd been up since 3 am. That's _nine_ hours. _Nine_. On a Sunday morning. He couldn't wait to finally get home and take a nice, long, quiet nap. Fixing his glasses and running a few fingers through his navy hair, he walked towards the bus station and looked down the street.

People would think interning at a hospital for nine hours, helping out with sick and injured people, would be kind of fulfilling and worth while…but honestly, to Jyou, the people were too crabby and/or unresponsive. After the first few hours, the excitement wore off and now he just wanted a cup of coffee and a nice warm shower.

When the bus finally came to the station, Jyou quickly walked on, paid, and took a seat near the front of the bus. He looked at the woman sitting in the seat next to him and paused to glance at the attractive blond-haired woman.

God, how long has it been since he's dated? School and the internship had practically taken over his life. He barely had time for anything else. But who was he kidding; the blonde girl in the next seat was _way_ out of his league. Jyou looked at the seat behind the blond girl's and saw another girl with glasses and brown hair in a ponytail. She wouldn't be so bad…if she didn't look like she was twelve years old.

Jyou sighed. He wanted to be a doctor. Everyone knew it and everyone respected him for it. But for some odd reason, Jyou felt as if he wasting time. Seriously, he was young, right, only twenty-four? He should be dating and having fun. Why did he feel like he was wasting his life away for a profession?

Well…because he was so passionate about being a doctor. Jyou groaned to himself and rubbed his tired eyes. Lately, he'd been having so many mixed feelings about everything it was stressing him out.

When his stop came into view, he got up slowly and exited the bus when it came to a halt. Walking across the street cautiously, he slowly entered the building and dragged himself up the stairs of his apartment building.

When he got to his apartment door, he sighed and rested his head against it. Now where did he put his damn keys?

"Jyou? Are you alright?"

Jyou looked behind him and raised a brow at Iori's concerned face.

"Yeah, I'm fine…are you just getting in?"

Iori raised his brow and opened his mouth slightly.

"Uh…it depends. Were you at the hospital?"

"Yeah…since three o'clock in the morning."

"Oh, that's not too fun. Well, I got in last night at like…five in the morning. I was up studying at the library."

Jyou raised his chin and said a short 'huh', not believing a word he was saying. Too tired to even interrogate further, Jyou rolled his eyes and motioned for Iori to open the door. Iori complied and they both walked in, going in their separate directions. Iori headed for the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water while Jyou went straight to the bedroom, closing the door rather loudly.

Iori looked at the closed door sympathetically, taking a sip out of the bottle. Jyou really was putting so much stress on himself and everyone was starting to worry about him.

Takeru walked out of his room and looked at Iori questioningly, holding his notebook in hand.

"Was that Jyou?"

Iori nodded and shrugged his shoulders. Takeru sighed and smacked his lips together, making a popping sound. He looked at Iori with a little examination.

"So…where were you all night?"

Iori coughed on his water a little bit and gazed at Takeru's grinning face.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about. I got home at, like, five in the morning after studying-"

"Okay, don't pull that crap with me. I was up almost all night working on my new article." He retorted, crossing his arms, his grin widening even more.

Iori looked up and then down, fidgeting slightly. He was never too good at lying under pressure.

"Well…I just slipped past you-"

"So, is there a _woman_ involved?" he asked, grabbing a bag of chips and chomping on them with a smirk.

"W-What are you-"

"What's her name, huh?"

Iori sighed and shook his head.

"Look, Takeru, I'd really like it if you respected my privacy a little."

Takeru pouted and sat down on the couch as Iori stood near him.

"What's the big deal?! Why can't you just tell me who you're banging-"

"Well, then why don't you tell me who you keep disappearing off with? Because for the past few weeks, Takeru, you've been leaving the apartment a little secretively, haven't you? You're not that good at lying either," he stated, knowing very well that Takeru was in some kind of relationship with someone.

Takeru gave a blank and low stare.

"Touché."

Iori smirked and put his bottle back into the refrigerator.

"Could you guys keep it down?!" Jyou yelled from inside his room. Iori and Takeru looked towards the door and winced.

"Damn, someone's a little grouchy," Takeru claimed, raising his brows. Iori sighed, nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm sure you would be too if you interned at a hospital for nine hours."

Takeru nodded, getting up and heading towards the mail.

"Oh, by the way, invitations for Yamato's wedding came in yesterday. Here's yours," Takeru stated, handing Iori an envelope. Iori raised his brow and took the invitation, examining it.

"Uh…wedding?"

Takeru nodded and looked at Iori innocently, placing the bag of chips down.

"Um…Takeru, have Taichi and Sora seen these invitations?"

Takeru sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Honestly, you think they still are going to hold a grudge against him? Yamato's my brother and I know he didn't mean to do any of the things that he did to them. They should be respectful and at least attend the wedding, right?"

Iori's eyes widened a little.

"I really don't think Taichi will forgive and forget that easily. And Sora…I'm sure hearing the marriage news is devastating for her. I mean, Yamato is getting _married_?! Since when? And to whom?! We haven't heard from him in about three years," Iori asked unbelievingly. Takeru glared slightly. He hated that everyone was so harsh against his brother. Yes, he made some mistakes, but it was a long time ago. He had talked to Yamato on the phone a few days ago. He was truly sorry and wanted a fresh start with everyone.

"Look, all I know is that Yamato is finally happy. If Taichi and Sora can't accept that-"

"Takeru, what about _them_, huh? He practically betrayed both of them."

Takeru looked at the floor.

"I know…but what am I supposed to do, Iori?! Taichi and Sora are my friends, but Yamato's my brother. Someone's got to take my brother's side," he sighed, taking the invitation and placing it in his notebook. Iori understood and read the invitation.

"Wow, this is really unexpected and random…"

"Yeah, he called me a few days ago and explained everything."

Iori sighed and waited a while before stating, "Maybe we should see how Taichi and Sora are taking this."

* * *

"Okay here's the plan."

Daisuke listened intently, elbows resting on the counter, while Koushiro rolled his eyes, picking at the sandwich he had made while Taichi ranted on about the invitation in the few minutes after he had received it.

"We have to go into the girls' apartment and take all their invitations," he stated, nodding his head. Daisuke agreed, stating a quick, "yeah."

Koushiro rolled his eyes again and sighed.

"Wow, Taichi, great plan. You're a real Napoleon, let me tell you," he retorted sarcastically. How did Taichi ever become a successful businessman? Taichi glared.

"You know what, Koushiro, I'm not in the mood to deal with your attitude right now."

Koushiro winced slightly. He knew that he was being spiteful to Taichi, but he didn't want Taichi to be spiteful back. Taichi ignored Koushiro and continued talking.

"Okay, so do either of you have a key to the girls' apartment? Sora took mine away last month because she said she was getting new locks or something," he explained. Daisuke gave a blank stare and furrowed his brows.

"Yeah…actually, I think Sora took mine away, too. Something about getting it fixed…"

Koushiro groaned. Why did he live with such idiots?

"Okay, she obviously took all our keys away because she didn't like us barging in all the time, especially when none of the girls were home," he stated. Taichi and Daisuke stared at the red head for a few seconds till reality hit them. They both said "oh" at the same time and Taichi hit his head.

"Damn it! How are we going to get into their apartment?!"

"How about we wait for Miyako, Hikari, or Mimi to get home? Hopefully one of them will before Sora does," Koushiro suggested, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"But we don't know when any of them are coming home! God, why do girls always go out?!" Daisuke stated with a huff. Taichi stared at the table quietly. Koushiro and Daisuke waited for him to say something, but he didn't.

"Are you alright, Taichi?" Daisuke asked, putting a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder. Taichi looked at the table and nodded slowly.

"I…I just can't believe him. How could he have the _nerve_ to think we'd do _anything_ for him?" Taichi stated softly, the weirdest tone to his voice. Koushiro looked at his friend sympathetically and sat down next to him.

"Look, you don't have to go to the wedding, Taichi. Neither does Sora. _Maybe_ it would be good for Sora to know so she could get closure, you know?"

Taichi shook his head, sighing.

"No, this would kill her," he stood up and headed for the fridge, "I can't see her like that, Koushiro."

Koushiro sighed and bit his lip.

"Fine, what do you suppose we do?"

Taichi looked over his shoulder and grinned.

"We break into their apartment, of course."

"Good plan!"

"That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard," Koushiro stated after Daisuke's exclamation.

A knock on the door got all of their attentions. Daisuke quickly opened the door and greeted Takeru and Iori.

"Hey, guys. What are you all up to," Iori asked, seeing the scheming faces on Taichi and Daisuke. Daisuke shrugged and walked over to Taichi.

"We're trying to figure out how to break into the girls' apartment," he stated. Takeru and Iori raised their brows.

"Don't you guys all have a key?" Takeru asked. Koushiro sighed and shook his head.

"Sora took them all away."

"Why are you guys breaking into their apartment?" Iori asked curiously, sitting down at the counter. Daisuke grinned, bringing his hands behind his head.

"We're trying to take away Sora's invitation to Yamato's wedding before she gets home," he stated. Koushiro groaned hitting his head when he saw Takeru glare slightly. Taichi nodded, closing the fridge door and taking a swig of a soda.

"Are you serious? How immature are you guys?!"

Taichi eyed the younger boy and glared right back.

"Immature? I don't think this is _immature_, Takeru. This is Sora we're talking about. She takes care of all of us, maybe we should look after her for once," he explained with a glare. Takeru scoffed, closing the door loudly and walking up to the counter.

"You're making it seem like she's deathly _ill_ or something!"

"And _you're_ making it seem like she's just going to be okay with this!"

"Well it's been three years, Taichi, I'd be surprised if she hasn't gotten over it yet."

Daisuke stepped out of the way and stood by Iori and Koushiro. Koushiro winced, knowing that Taichi was going to blow after that statement. Taichi restrained himself from hitting the younger boy just because Takeru was one of his close friends.

"Then you obviously don't know how much pain Sora was in when he left. I know her. I know she's still holding onto some small hope that he'd come back. _This_," Taichi held up the invitation that was crumpled slightly in his hand, "is going to kill her. I'm not going to let your _brother_ keep haunting her."

Takeru faltered at the slight malice in Taichi's voice. Taichi was the boss of the group, the leader. He barely got angry at any of them, but once one of them lit his fuse, the explosion was destructive.

"Taichi…this is supposed to be the happiest day of Yamato's life. Please,_ please_, don't ruin this. Or please don't do this to me," he begged softly, looking up at the older boy. Taichi chuckled with scorn, slowly heading for the front door.

"You're just like your brother, Takeru. You don't think about anyone else's feelings, just your own…and your asshole brother's, in this case, too," he stated, opening the door and walking out.

Takeru stood there with the worst pain on his face. Daisuke slowly walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Takeru turned and smiled half-heartedly. Iori joined them and sighed as Koushiro walked towards the door, following Taichi.

"Taichi, wait," he called. Koushiro walked out the door and saw Taichi staring at the girls' apartment door, trying to figure out how to get in. Koushiro walked up to him slowly, sighing softly.

"Don't you think you were a little harsh on Takeru? The poor kid was just trying to defend his brother," he stated softly. Taichi didn't turn to Koushiro but, instead, started to rattle the girls' doorknob.

"I don't think anyone should defend that bastard," he stated abruptly. Koushiro bit his lip and watched Taichi trying to crush the door handle.

Miyako walked up the stairs with pure bliss on her face. When she saw Koushiro and Taichi in the hallway by her apartment door, she didn't even notice that they were trying to get in, but, instead, went up to Koushiro and started squealing.

"Oh, Koushiro, I've just met the most amazing man! He's so sweet and so brave and so-"

"Miyako! Give me your key!" Taichi interrupted, grabbing a hold of Miyako's shoulders and shaking her slightly. Miyako raised her brow and scoffed.

"No, I am not giving you my key. Sora told me never to give you or Daisuke any keys."

Koushiro chuckled and tried to hide his smile. Taichi glared and started to shake her even more.

"Look, I don't have time for this! Just give me your damn key!"

Miyako pulled away and fixed her hair quickly.

"Okay, okay, god! Why do you want to get into the apartment so bad, anyway?" she asked, digging through her purse for her key. Taichi sighed.

"Because, _apparently_, Yamato is getting married and he invited all of us to his damn wedding and if Sora sees this invitation then she's going to be crushed," he stated quickly. At this point, Iori, Daisuke, and Takeru joined them all out in the hallway.

Miyako's eyes widened and she stared at Taichi incredulously.

"Are you serious?! Oh, my god! Okay, sorry, let me find my key. We can't let Sora see that invitation," she stated quickly, digging through her purse again. Taichi smiled at the fact that Miyako was on his side. Takeru looked at the floor, not really saying anything.

"Miyako, do you know where Sora is? Or even Mimi? She was home about two hours ago," Taichi asked. Miyako sighed, now searching furiously through her small bag.

"I don't know where anyone is. Hikari set me up with this guy and just kind of left me there-"

"Okay, Miyako, we don't really care about your dating life," Daisuke explained, rolling his eyes. Miyako glared and shoved him a little. She then suddenly stopped searching with a jolt and hit her head.

"Damn it! I left my key inside! I purposefully didn't bring it today because I thought Hikari was going to stay with me all day. She left with Takeru, though," Miyako stated.

"Yeah, she said she had to go pick up some things for work tomorrow," he stated unemotionally. Taichi groaned.

"This is ridiculous!" Taichi exclaimed with a pound on the door. Takeru looked at his watch and just said a quick goodbye to Iori before walking towards the end of the hall. Iori watched him with concern and sighed. No one else really noticed him leave.

"Taichi, I think we should just wait for Sora, Mimi, or Hikari to come home. They should be home soon…" Koushiro suggested.

Taichi clenched his jaw and grumpily walked back into his apartment room while everyone looked at each other and went their separate ways. Miyako stood in the hall by herself for a while until she realized she was alone.

"Daisuke, open your door! I'm staying in your apartment for now!"

"Oh great…"

* * *

Hikari waited at the diner, sitting by the window. She smiled when she looked out the window and saw Takeru making his way towards the diner. The bell above the door rang and Takeru smiled slightly as he walked over to his girlfriend and gave her a peck on the cheek before sitting down across from her.

Takeru picked up his menu and scammed it slowly while Hikari looked at him with a worried look.

"Are you alright?"

Takeru looked up for a quick second and then back down.

"Yeah, what makes you think there's a problem?"

Hikari raised her brows and then cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Because you get all quiet when you're bummed."

Takeru sighed and looked at Hikari's sweet face.

"So, did you get everything you needed for work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I really think all the children in my class tomorrow will love this project I have planned for them," Hikari explained with a smile. Takeru nodded solemnly and played with his napkin. Hikari narrowed her eyes and sighed mischievously, "And, you know…I met this guy at the store…"

Takeru nodded his head and started playing with a plastic straw on the table.

Hikari glared slightly and pulled Takeru's hand away from the straw and held it in her hands.

"Takeru, you know you can tell me anything. What's going on? You were fine this morning," she queried softly. Takeru looked up into her light brown eyes and pursed his lips.

"Okay, let me give you a scenario," he explained. Hikari sat back and listened intently.

"Go on."

"If you had to choose to defend Taichi or Miyako if they were in some kind of fight, who would you choose?"

Hikari furrowed her brow and thought about it carefully.

"Well, I'd have to know both of their sides, you know? And whoever I agreed with more, I'd choose to defend them. But, honestly, I would rather stay out of any argument they had," she answered truthfully. Takeru groaned and tilted his head slightly.

"That doesn't help me," he stated softly.

The waitress came up to the couple and smiled, "Good afternoon, my name is Yuki. I will be your waitress for this evening. What kind of drinks would you two like?"

Hikari smiled at the woman and asked for water while Takeru grudgingly asked for a coffee. The waitress smiled and quickly went to fetch their drinks. Hikari cleared her throat again.

"So, what's wrong? What's with the whole 'scenario' thing?"

Takeru rested his head on his hand and looked at his girlfriend.

"Well, if you had to choose between defending me or Taichi, who would you choose?"

"Takeru, what are you saying? You know I can't choose-"

"So you wouldn't choose me?!" he stated frantically. Hikari gave him a hard look and hit his hand softly.

"Takeru, what is going on? Did you get into a fight with Taichi or something?"

Takeru looked down slowly and Hikari couldn't stand his puppy-dog look.

"Yeah…we kind of did," he stated with a frown. Hikari looked a little surprised. Takeru rarely got into a fight with anyone, let alone Taichi.

"What happened?"

"Well, I talked to Yamato a few days ago…"

Realization hit Hikari's face and she looked at the blond sympathetically.

"What did he say?"

"He was asking me how he felt on his…recent engagement and wanted to let me know that his wedding invitations would be arriving soon."

Hikari remained silent and stunned. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. No one had heard from Yamato in three years and when he finally decides to contact one of them, it's to tell everyone about his _wedding_?

"Taichi and the rest of them were trying to get into your apartment so they could take the invitations. He doesn't want Sora to see them."

Hikari sighed and bit her lip.

"Well, definitely, if Sora sees it than she'll be heartbroken. I don't know if she'll be able to take another blow from Yamato…"

Takeru resisted the urge to glare.

"See! Everyone is making Yamato out to be some kind of villain. He's truly sorry for everything and just wants to make it up to everyone at the wedding," he explained. Hikari leaned forward and shook her head.

"I know, Takeru, but even though it's the right thing, it doesn't mean that Taichi and Sora are ready for it."

"Well, don't you think Sora should know? Isn't it just immature of Taichi to try to hide it from her?" Takeru asked, getting frustrated. Hikari smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Taichi's just trying to protect her and you know that. Look, Taichi knows Sora the best out of all of us. If he feels that she's not ready for this news than maybe she shouldn't know."

Takeru gave a slight glare and a quizzical look.

"Are you serious, Hikari?! Sooner or later she has to find out. It's going to hurt her either way. It really would mean a lot to Yamato if everyone came…especially Taichi and Sora. The sooner she finds out, the sooner she can try to get over it, right?"

Hikari shook her head and smiled sympathetically at her naïve boyfriend.

"Someone like _Yamato_ is hard for Sora to get over. Even if it's been three years. Especially because he just left unexpectedly, you know? He probably left about a thousand unanswered questions in Sora's mind."

Takeru sighed.

"I don't know who I should defend, Hikari; my brother or my friends."

Hikari gave a sincere smile and held his hands again.

"Maybe you don't have to choose. Try supporting each side," she suggested intuitively. Takeru chuckled dryly to himself and smirked at his girlfriend.

"I never really thought of that…"

Hikari laughed and got up as Takeru looked at her questioningly.

"Where are you going? We haven't finished our date."

Hikari grinned.

"Eh, our date can wait."

* * *

"Daisuke, I'm appointing you a very important task, now. I want it to be executed properly."

Daisuke nodded at Taichi's words and repressed himself from stating, "Yes, sir."

Taichi narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the younger boy.

"Now, I need to finish some paperwork for my boss tomorrow and I need complete concentration and silence. So it's up to you to lookout for any of the girls coming down the hallway. When any of them do, stop them, and come get me. Got it?"

Daisuke nodded again and stood up straighter. Miyako rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I'll be with him just in case, Taichi. You can't trust him to do this by himself."

Daisuke scoffed and shoved Miyako slightly so she fell on the couch.

"No, I don't need you there," he stated to the lavender haired girl, "I'll watch out for you, Tai, you can count on me."

Taichi smiled and picked up a stack of papers.

"Okay good. Now I'll be in my room. Just get me if anyone comes," he stated before disappearing down the hall towards his room. Miyako smirked and looked at Daisuke.

"Are you _sure_ you don't want me to come out with you?"

"Shut up. Of course I'm sure. I'm perfectly capable of doing this myself," he stated, lifting his head up high. Miyako rolled her eyes.

"Barely capable…" she mumbled under her breath. Daisuke glared and grabbed a chair, heading towards the door. Miyako raised her brow.

"Are you just going to stare at my apartment door? It might be smart to stay in _your_ apartment and keep _your_ door wide open. That way if someone walks by you'll see. But, I know you like to do everything the stupid way, so, whatever pleases you, Daisuke," she suggested. Daisuke glared.

"I like my way perfectly fine, thank you," he retorted stubbornly, opening the door and slamming it behind him. Daisuke took his chair and placed it in front of his door. He stared at the girls' apartment door with some determination before looking down both sides of the hall.

No one was going to get by unseen.

* * *

"I can't believe you just _left_ me in the apartment alone with Taichi! How could you just leave?!"

"I thought it would be a good time for you to talk to him about your feelings, Mimi! I didn't mean to embarrass you by it," Sora stated with a slight laugh. Mimi crossed her arms and huffed.

"Well your plan did the exact opposite. Taichi decided to tell me his whole view of dating by stating that he likes to be with a lot of women. That _basically_ means that he's not looking for anything steady. And _that_ means that he wouldn't be interested in a relationship with me at all. You know why, Sora? Because I'm his 'friend'. It's not fair!" she exclaimed. Everyone at the hair salon looked at the two friends.

Sora had decided to get her haircut when she left the apartment and Mimi had tracked her down by calling her cell phone about a million times. By the time Mimi came down, Sora had already gotten her hair cut, washed, and blow dried, and as soon as Mimi entered the salon, she didn't hesitate to make a scene about the situation that happened at the apartment with Taichi.

"Mimi! It's okay," she paused to laugh, "I'm sure if you tell Taichi how you feel, he won't treat you like he treats every other girl _because_ you're his friend. He might even go for it, you never know," she optimized. Mimi pouted and sighed as Sora paid the lady at the main desk and they both exited the salon.

"But, Sora," she groaned obnoxiously, "What if he doesn't want to go for it?!"

"Stop with all the 'what ifs'! Look, you're never going to know until you tell him."

Mimi shut her mouth and gave a smug look to her best friend. They both entered Sora's car and Sora quickly started to head home.

"Are you hungry? Do you want to stop somewhere to eat?" Sora asked. Mimi sighed and crossed her arms, looking out the window.

"I'm mad at you."

Sora smiled and looked at her best friend. At least she was still the same, perky, Mimi.

"Of course you are."

Sora decided to drive back to the apartment and turned down the street.

"I'm not going to talk to you, just letting you know," Mimi added, turning her head away. Sora chuckled.

"I'm sure you won't, Mimi." Sora loved how Mimi was saying all this but still came all the way down to the salon to 'scold' Sora.

Sora parked in the parking lot and got out of the car, waiting for Mimi to do the same. Mimi scoffed and also exited the car.

"And I'm not going to listen to you. I'm not telling Taichi," she affirmed as they both walked towards the apartment building and entered.

"_Okay_, Mimi."

* * *

Daisuke sighed, looking at both sides of the hallway again, tapping his foot impatiently. He really needed to go to the bathroom. He'd been sitting in the hallway for forty-five minutes now and his bladder was ready to explode inside his body.

When he checked both ends of the hall again, he sighed and looked at the ceiling pleadingly, his forehead sweating slightly.

Going to the bathroom would only take a few seconds, right? No one would come in within the next few seconds…right? Daisuke groaned and crossed his legs. This was ridiculous.

He quickly got up and moved the chair out of the way, running into his apartment.

"Miyako, keep a lookout for a few seconds while I take a piss!" Daisuke exclaimed as he ran towards the bathroom. He knew he shouldn't have chugged all that juice.

Unbeknownst to Daisuke, Miyako was sound asleep on the couch and didn't hear the sound of Daisuke's request. The door was still wide open…

* * *

Sora started heading up the staircase until she realized something.

"Oh, Mimi! We forgot to pick up the mail, yesterday, can you get it real quick?"

Mimi rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Now you want favors from me? I told you, I'm mad at you."

Sora sighed and looked at Mimi from the first step of the staircase.

"Please? You're right there," she stated. Mimi sighed and looked for their little mail box cubby and picked up the envelopes inside. She stomped over next to Sora right after.

"You are still not forgiven."

They walked up the stairs together and once they got to their floor, they walked towards their door. Mimi raised her brow when she saw the chair in the hallway and Taichi's apartment door wide open.

"What the hell were they doing? Playing some kind of game?"

Sora looked for her key and placed it in the doorknob, unlocking the door and opening it. She entered first and Mimi followed.

"Knowing them, I wouldn't be surprised."

* * *

Daisuke sighed, feeling suddenly alleviated that he relieved his urge. He walked towards the front door again and lifted up his chair once he got in the hallway. Something made him stop in his tracks, however. He noticed the girls' apartment door cracked open. He quickly panicked once reality hit him and he ran into his apartment room.

"Miyako, I told you to watch the door!"

He finally realized that Miyako was asleep on the couch and shouted to himself frantically, sprinting to the couch and shaking Miyako. Miyako woke up with a quick jolt and screamed as Daisuke wobbled her.

"What are you doing, Daisuke?!"

"I told you to keep a lookout while I went to the bathroom! What the hell are you doing?!"

"What?! No, you didn't! I was asleep on this couch since you went out in the hall!"

Daisuke stood up and irritably ran a few fingers through his hair.

"I think one of the girls is home! The door's open!"

"Well, get Taichi, then!" Miyako ordered, standing up and following him as he ran to Taichi's room.

Daisuke barged open the door and panted slightly.

"Taichi, I'm _so_ sorry! I think one of the girls is in the apartment! I was just peeing-"

"What?! Daisuke!" Taichi quickly left the small desk he was working at and ran to the front door.

* * *

Mimi looked through the mail while Sora went to the bathroom to check on her new haircut. She stopped when she noticed an ivory envelope with perfect cursive writing addressed to Sora Takenouchi. She then noticed that Miyako and Hikari had one, as well. Mimi furrowed her brows.

"Hey, Sora, I know I'm not talking to you but…there's a really fancy envelope here for you in the mail," she stated naively. Sora came out of the bathroom and ran a few fingers through her ginger hair, which was now cut to just below her shoulders.

"What is it?"

Mimi shrugged her shoulders and handed Sora the letter.

Sora raised a brow and examined it. Her heart stopped when she read the name at the corner of the envelope: Yamato Ishida.

Mimi looked at Sora and watched as her mouth slightly dropped and her face lost almost all color.

"Sora? What is it?"

Sora didn't answer, not really hearing her question. Was this some kind of letter saying that he was coming back to her? An apology letter, maybe? It had to be, right? She shakily turned the envelope and ripped it open.

Taking the intricate invitation out of the ivory envelope, Sora's heart fell to the ground and her eyes quickly fluttered shut. What the _hell_ was this, some kind of sick joke? It had to be.

Taichi ran into the room and stopped quickly in his tracks when he saw Sora a few feet in front of him, her back facing him, and the ominous envelope in hand. Daisuke ran in after Taichi and stopped quickly, causing Miyako to bump into him and come to a stop, as well.

"Sora, what is it? Are you okay?" Mimi asked, hesitantly walking towards her best friend but stopped when Taichi told her not to move.

"Sor…?" Taichi called softly from his spot. Sora dropped the invitation and the envelope, turning to look at Taichi. Taichi winced at the pain visible in her eyes and bit his lip, wanting to take a step closer. He hated seeing his childhood friend like this.

Takeru and Hikari were next to walk into the apartment and both stopped talking once they entered and felt the tense atmosphere. Takeru saw the envelope and invitation on the floor and looked sympathetically at his older friend.

Sora sighed, running a few more fingers through her hair and shaking her head.

"This..._this_ isn't real, is it? It's not real…" she asked him. Taichi looked at her considerately and shook his head.

"I'm so sorry, Sor."

Sora closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. This couldn't be happening. _He_ was supposed to come back to her.

"S-Sorry, I need to go," she stated as she quickly bustled out of the apartment, everyone parting the way as she walked towards the door. Taichi stood in his spot, looking at the ground with a glare. He tried to stop it. He tried to stop her from seeing the invitation.

Daisuke walked towards Taichi and placed a hand on his shoulder. Taichi winced and turned around, leaving the apartment room, as well.

All that was heard was the loud pound of Taichi's apartment door and Taichi's heavy footsteps to his room.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Wow, sorry for the long wait! I haven't had the motivation for writing this cause I wasn't getting that many reviews so, yeah. Haha I'm back though and I have two other chapters written so don't worry I'll try to update in a timely fashion from now on :)

* * *

Mimi sighed, looking at the clock on the oven and tapping her fingers lightly on the table. 11:56…Sora's been gone for almost ten hours and no one knows where she could be. Hikari sat on the couch silently, glancing at the phone every few seconds, hoping that Sora would call to update everyone on her whereabouts. Miyako paced the room with creases of concern lining her forehead.

There was a slight knock on the door and Miyako went to open the door quickly, praying that it was Sora at the other end. When Taichi took a step into the apartment, Miyako sighed and cursed to herself.

Taichi looked around the room and stopped when he saw Hikari.

"She still hasn't come home?"

All three girls shook their heads and Mimi sighed again.

"This isn't like Sora at all! What the hell happened with her and…this _Yamato Ishida_?"

Miyako, Hikari, and Taichi all glanced at each other awkwardly and looked at the floor. Mimi gazed at her three friends and raised a brow when no one answered.

"Okay, take your time…I'll be staying up all night, anyway. It doesn't seem like Sora's going to be home any time soon."

Taichi sighed heavily to himself, running a few fingers through his hair and heading towards the door. Hikari raised her brow and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Where do you think? I'm not letting her stay out all night. I'm going to go look for her," he explained, opening the door. Mimi raised her brows and took this opportunity.

"Wait! I'll come with you, Taichi. Another pair of eyes might be of some help," she stated with a smile, getting up and grabbing a light coat. Taichi smiled sweetly and politely motioned for her to exit the apartment first. She smiled nervously and left as Taichi followed her. Hikari let out a slight yawn and Miyako sat down next to her on the couch as Taichi closed the door.

Mimi held her breath slightly as she walked next to Taichi. Would now be a good time to tell him how she felt about him? No, what the hell was she thinking? There was a crisis going on and Taichi was very worried. Maybe later on in the night…

"I know she's upset, I am too, but _this_ is just uncalled for. It's almost twelve o'clock in the morning!"

Yeah… it's definitely not a good time to tell Taichi her feelings.

"She's hopefully fine, Taichi. No, she's definitely fine. Let's not worry,"

Taichi ran more fingers through his hair, again, and Mimi couldn't help but love when he did that. Taichi glanced at her and cracked a small smile. That was just like Mimi. She always kept her spirits high.

"So, where should we start looking?" she asked him innocently. Taichi wrinkled his nose in thought for a second as they walked down the stairs.

"We should check the park first. That's usually her favorite spot to go," he paused to chuckle, "she likes the swings."

Mimi nodded, looking at him adorningly. He always took care of his friends.

"Really? The park? I mean, I wouldn't know because she's never gotten too upset since I've been here, but I would prefer a bar or something," Mimi stated innocently. Taichi laughed and shook his head in her direction as they exited the apartment building and called for a cab.

"No, Sora's not the drinking type."

* * *

Sora scrunched her face after chugging another shot.

This couldn't be happening. He should be coming back to her.

The bartender looked at her with concern as he washed a few glasses.

"Do you want me to call you a cab, miss?"

Sora stared at the empty cup in front of her and held her forehead with one hand. This is ridiculous. He's getting married?! Whatever happened to all their plans? What about their own future? Did he really just throw that all away?

"Miss?"

Sora pulled the keys out of her bag and started to head out of the busy bar. The world was spinning a little bit. The lights were dim and the stuffy air didn't help her hold her composure. She pushed through the crowd as best as she could.

Married.

He's getting married.

Sora accidentally bumped into someone and mumbled a quick apology. The blond haired man turned around and smiled when he saw Sora.

"Whoa, there. Are you alright?"

Sora looked up into his eyes and blinked a couple of times when she noticed how blue they were. She couldn't help but let Yamato's face come to her mind.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," she slurred faintly while closing her eyes. The blond haired man tilted his head and crossed his arms.

"You sure don't look fine."

Sora opened her auburn eyes once again and looked at his face. He didn't look exactly like Yamato, but he looked similar. His hair was much shorter and his eyes looked much sweeter. This man was also a good few inches taller than Yamato, surprisingly.

A sudden dizziness waved through her again and she stumbled a little bit only to have the blond haired man hold on to her to make sure she didn't fall. He noticed the car keys in Sora's hands and quickly took them away from her. Sora glared and pushed him away.

"Give me those back!"

The blond-haired man chuckled and pulled Sora to a less crowded area. She had barely any idea what was going on.

"Calm down! I don't know who you are but do you really think I'd let you drive in this condition?"

Sora held her head steadily and scoffed.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm fine," she slurred again. The blond-haired man chuckled and put her keys in his pocket.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing in a bar this late at night all by yourself?"

Sora raised her brow and leaned back against the wall to support her self.

"I-I needed to get away…" she stated softly, looking at the seemingly moving ground. The blond-haired man leaned back against the wall, studying Sora with a look of concern.

"So, what's your name?"

Sora looked at him and tried to focus his blurry image.

"Sora."

He smiled and faced her fully.

"My name's Willis."

* * *

"Hikari, do you think Sora will ever get over this?"

Hikari looked at the lavender-haired girl next to her on the couch and let out a big sigh.

"I really hope so. She doesn't deserve all this, you know?"

"Yeah, Yamato's _really_ crossed the line. If he was in front of me right now, I'd give him a piece of my mind," Miyako stated with a glare, crossing her arms. Hikari bit her lip and shook her head.

"At the same time, I think we should give Yamato a chance. It's been three years, right? Maybe he's really changed," Hikari added, remembering what Takeru had told her earlier that day.

"Are you saying that you'd actually go to his wedding? After everything he's done to your brother and Sora, you'd be ready to forgive him that easily?" she asked unbelievingly. Hikari shook her head.

"I wouldn't forgive him _easily_, but I'd give him a chance. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?" she rhetorically queried her best friend. Miyako scoffed.

"I don't care. I'm never going to forgive him."

Hikari sighed, again, and shrugged her shoulders.

"You're just as stubborn as Taichi."

After a few minutes of silence, Hikari looked at Miyako and gave a grin.

"So, how was Ken?" she asked with a wink. Miyako quickly lost her angry disposition and blushed heavily. She turned to Hikari and glared.

"I do not appreciate you leaving me today, by the way!" she stated. Hikari chuckled and leaned back on the couch.

"I only did it so you two could really get to know each other!"

Miyako mocked her slightly and rolled her eyes.

"Well…! Yeah, we did get to know each other," she admitted, smiling slowly, "He's amazing, Hikari! He has the most amazing personality and the most perfect blue eyes and a _hot_ job! He's…perfect."

Hikari laughed and grinned.

"I'm glad you like him! He seems like a great guy!"

"He is! I gave him my number so hopefully he'll call me tomorrow," she hoped, crossing her fingers like a little girl. Hikari laughed again and nudged Miyako.

When the doorknob started to jiggle, they both quickly stopped laughing and turned towards the door. To their dismay, Mimi walked in by herself and sighed.

"Taichi and I couldn't find Sora anywhere. We checked all her favorite spots and she was nowhere to be found. Taichi got frustrated and went straight to his apartment," she explained with a sigh. Mimi was a little disappointed. She didn't get to bond much with Taichi because of the search for their best friend.

Hikari moaned and shoved her head into her hands.

"Where is she?" she whispered.

Mimi sighed and leaned against the closed door. She suddenly realized how selfish she was being by trying to get close to Taichi and forgetting about the safety of her best friend. She may not know about what's going on with Sora, but she should at least try to be there for her rather than worrying about herself.

"I hope she's alright," Mimi murmured. Miyako looked at her two friends and pursed her lips.

"We all have work tomorrow. Are you guys going to sleep at all tonight?" she asked them. Hikari sighed.

"You know what? I think we should all just sleep in this room. That way if Sora walks in, we'll all be here and wake up. It's the only thing we can do now," Hikari explained. Miyako and Mimi agreed.

"I don't think I'm going to get that much sleep, anyway."

With that statement, Mimi went into her and Sora's room to grab her bedding and sheets to bring it out to the living room.

* * *

"I really don't think you should be drinking anymore."

Sora ignored Willis's warning and continued to drink her shot. She laughed as she put it down and shook her head.

"I told you! I-I'm not stopping till you give me my keys," she declared firmly, standing and placing her hand over her heart as if to give her promise. Willis laughed, sitting next to her at the bar, pushing the shot glass away from her.

"You're crazy, Sora Takenouchi," he stated. She laughed wildly and placed her head on the table.

"So, Willy, why are you here talking to a crazy drunk girl by yourself?" she asked with a laugh, her speech barely understandable. Willis laughed and cleared his throat.

"My name is _Willis_, and I actually came here with my friend but he ran off somewhere with some girl," Willis explained with a smirk. Sora lifted her head off the table and over-dramatically gasped.

"Really?! Now, Willis, you wouldn't run off with me, would you?"

Willis grinned and shook his head, placing his hand on hers, "I wouldn't do that to you." Sora laughed again and smiled as sweetly as she could.

"You know what, Willis? You remind me of someone," she stated randomly, getting close to the blond man. He raised his brows and smiled.

"Really? Who do I remind you of?"

Sora laughed and waved her hand at his face.

"My ex-boyfriend, Yamato Ishida. Do you know him?! He's some famous rock star now, I suppose," she slurred, leaning back in her chair. Willis quickly held her up so she wouldn't fall back.

"No, I've never heard of him. I'm not a big fan of rock music," he explained with a chuckle. Sora sighed dramatically.

"No, you'd love him! Everyone loves him... I love him," she whispered the last part, her drunken happiness suddenly fading. Willis noticed this and payed close attention. A quick fury entered Sora's body and he noticed Sora's glazed eyes quickly turned into ones of rage.

"I don't know why the hell he left me! He's the one that did everything wrong! He screwed everything up, but he still decided to leave. He's the biggest coward I know! I hate him! I-I…" Sora quickly became quiet and stared at the table, "What did I do wrong? Why wasn't I a good enough reason for him to stay?"

Willis quickly became awkward but put his hand on her shoulder.

"He was stupid to leave someone as great as you. It's not your loss…It's his," he stated. Sora looked at Willis and held her breath. He looked so much like Yamato it haunted her. Her vision was slightly blurred so every time she blinked…she saw Yamato sitting right before her.

She quickly placed her hands on the side of Willis's face and brought his lips to hers. At first Willis wanted to pull away so she didn't feel like he was taking advantage of her, but he couldn't. Something about Sora fascinated him and he gladly kissed back. For a while the both of them sat there, tongue wrestling. Sora's mind couldn't comprehend what was really going on; all she kept thinking was that she was actually with Yamato.

Willis pulled away, holding onto Sora's waist.

"How about we go to my house? I'll drive."

* * *

Jyou finally woke up. Ever since he went to sleep after interning yesterday, he slept through _everything_. Once he woke up this morning, Iori and Takeru filled him in on everything that happened yesterday.

Jyou looked at the wedding invitation as he took a bite out of his toast.

"Wow…and Sora _still_ hasn't come home?! What the hell, that's not like Sora at all. I hope she's alright…" he stated softly. Iori nodded and Takeru sighed.

"It's Monday morning and she still hasn't shown up. It's almost nine o'clock in the morning…on a normal day, Sora would be at work by now," Takeru announced. Jyou couldn't believe what he was hearing and couldn't believe that he slept through the whole thing. His work was really straining every part of his life.

"How's Taichi taking all of this?"

Takeru shrugged his shoulders and sat down on at the small table Jyou and Iori were already sitting at.

"Hikari told me that he's been worrying like crazy. With the stress of his job and all the events of yesterday, I'm sure he's not holding up very well. He didn't want to go to work today and wanted to search around for Sora, but Hikari forced him to go because we all know how much he wants that promotion," he explained.

"Yeah…Miyako, Hikari, and Mimi told us all to go to work today and decided that the three of them will stay home and look around for Sora," Iori informed.

Jyou let out a deep sigh and rubbed his eyes under his glasses.

"This is such a mess."

Iori agreed with a nod and rubbed his forehead.

"Well, I better get to work then. I have a big story to write up today," Takeru stated solemnly while grabbing a light coat and heading towards the door. He didn't want to leave and go to work as if it was a normal day. Sora could be in possible danger right now.

Jyou quickly examined Iori with squinted eyes as Takeru left.

"Sora's not the only one that disappeared all night…where were you two nights ago?"

Iori shifted uncomfortably in the wooden chair under Jyou's scrutiny.

"I was studying, Jyou, I swear," he lied as best as he could. Jyou didn't believe it for one second.

"Well you shouldn't swear on a lie like that, you'd be cursed," he joked, intertwining his fingers under his chin. Iori got up and scoffed.

"Honestly, Jyou, just stop trying to figure out my life. Law School is already a pain in my ass, please don't become another one," he stated firmly. Jyou bit his lip and tried not to take that statement personally. He angrily rolled his eyes and also got up, heading for his room to get his stuff for interning.

"You know what, Iori? I'm just trying to help. I don't want to deal with your attitude and smartass remarks when I have my career to worry about," he retorted with a sigh, heading into his room.

* * *

Taichi sighed, staring at the black phone on his somewhat messy desk. He worked in a very small room in a hallway filled with small rooms and workers. He couldn't think about work right now when he was too worried about Sora. There had to be something he could do. Taichi moaned slightly, straightening out his black suit and fixing his blue tie.

A few months ago, Taichi's boss mentioned that he was considering Taichi for a certain promotion and ever since then Taichi's been working hard to win the promotion. He knew that he should be working and finishing the paperwork that he needed to have completed. But he just couldn't right now. All he kept thinking about was Sora laying dead somewhere in a gutter.

Yeah, that was a little graphic but he was really worried and couldn't do shit about it. He banged his fists on his table and shoved his face into his hands.

Where the hell was she?!

He decided that he needed to look for her, or at least call the cops to report a missing person. Taichi quickly got up but paused when there was a light knock on the door. He called for the person to come in and remained in his standing position.

A blonde haired coworker that occupied the room right next to him grinned as she opened the door.

"Hey, Taichi, the _boss_ is calling for you," she stated with a wink and heavy accent. Taichi smiled slightly, looking over her body in the tight sky blue blouse and skimpy black A-line skirt. For a second he almost forgot his worries, but they quickly flooded his mind, again, just as fast.

"Thanks, Catherine, I'll go see him," he stated, rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes for a second. He really wanted to look for Sora. He looked up when he realized Catherine was still there, biting her lip nervously.

"So, are you busy tonight? I heard this great place opened up down the street…it has, supposedly, amazing food," she suggested with an anxious grin. Taichi smiled sweetly but sighed.

"I'm sorry, Catherine, I really have a lot of work to do tonight and I'm having a slight family crisis," he stated truthfully. Sora was basically his family. She was pretty much his baby sister. Catherine nodded her head solemnly and shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe some other time then…" she said while leaving his small room and closing the door behind her. Taichi ran uneasy fingers through his hair and dropped back down on his chair briefly before going to see his boss.

This was way too much stress.

* * *

Miyako stared at her phone, as well, waiting for it to ring. Mimi noticed this and sighed.

"Miyako, I don't think Sora's going to call. It's hopeless waiting for it…"

Miyako turned and rolled her eyes.

"I know that, Mimi. I'm waiting for Ken to call," she explained, turning back around and staring at the phone again with a dreamy sigh. Hikari laughed and rolled her eyes. Mimi and Hikari sat at the small, round dining table while Miyako stared at the phone from the couch.

They all stayed home instead of going to work. They already searched around outside for Sora again but realized that it was a little waste of time doing so. They all thought it might be better if they waited at the apartment in case she showed up.

Mimi flipped through her magazine, never really reading it because her mind kept wandering back to Sora. It seemed as if no one could really think about anything but Sora at the moment.

Mimi groaned and threw the magazine on the floor, pouting and glaring at the table.

"There's got to be something else we can do other than sitting around," she groaned with frustration. Hikari winced and closed her eyes, exhausted and sleepy.

"I think the only thing we can do that will actually help would be to call the cops…"

Mimi shook her head forcefully and hit her head on the table.

"No! This isn't serious enough to involve the police, right?" she asked. Hikari widened her eyes and chuckled dryly.

"Yes it is! We don't know where she went yesterday and if she's even okay right now! The police might be our best option," Hikari stated. Miyako quickly turned around and squealed delightedly.

"Oh my god, we should call Ken! He could look for Sora! I'll help him!"

Mimi groaned again, holding her head, while Hikari chuckled and sighed.

"I don't think so, Miyako. We don't have Ken's number, first of all, and I don't think we should involve him," she explained. Miyako pouted and turned back around, crossing her arms and glaring.

Daisuke walked into the girls' apartment without knocking and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Why is everything in my life going wrong?!"

The three girls stared at him with blank stares and Daisuke glared, leaving the apartment as quickly as he came in and slamming the door. For a while the girls just stayed silent, but after a few seconds, burst out laughing. Daisuke always knew how to lighten the mood.

When the laughter died down, the ominous insecurity filled the air and all the girls looked down at the floor. Hikari quickly grabbed her bag and sunglasses.

"Where are you going?" Mimi asked.

"I'm going down to the police station. I can't stand worrying like this. We need more help and the cops will give us that," she stated, fixing her hair with her fingers. Miyako quickly shot up and grinned.

"Maybe Ken will be there!"

Mimi chuckled and grabbed her stuff, as well.

"Wow, Miyako, wow."

* * *

The evening was slowly approaching and soon, everyone was gathering into the girls' apartment waiting for Sora. She still hadn't shown up.

Taichi and Jyou were the only ones missing, and the silence that encompassed the room was unbearably suffocating. No one said a word, scared that any noise might overpower the sound of the telephone ringing or the door knocking.

Hikari, Takeru, and Iori sat on the couch, all looking at the floor with anxiety. Mimi sat on the floor next to Daisuke and Koushiro while Miyako nervously walked around. It wasn't like Sora to go missing for twenty-four hours.

The front door barged open and a disheveled Taichi quickly entered, looking at every face in the room expectantly. His face fell when he noticed that Sora still hadn't come home. He was still dressed in his suit, suitcase in hand. He quickly dropped it and headed over to everyone.

"Are you kidding me? If she ever comes home, I'm going to kill her," he stated, sitting on the arm of the couch and lifting his hands to his forehead. No one said anything. His statement made it seem like there might be a chance she wouldn't come home at all.

"I-I've already went down to the police station. I filed a missing persons report but they said to wait and see if she comes back home tonight," Hikari informed her brother. Taichi stared at the ground, his face showing barely any emotions.

There was nothing left to do but wait. Taichi couldn't take this and didn't have the patience to just sit around. He wanted to go out there and look for her himself but he knew it would be useless. Sora didn't want to be found; otherwise she would have been in her usual spots.

"I have way too much work to do…I'll be in my room if any of you need me," he stated with a sigh, heading towards the door and grabbing his suitcase. Daisuke saw the distressed look on Taichi's face and almost got up to follow him but Koushiro stopped him.

"Just leave him alone for a while…he's doing his work to keep his mind off things," Koushiro explained softly. Taichi closed the door behind him and Daisuke looked at it solemnly. The room was encompassed with silence again.

After a few minutes, Mimi spoke up, "I'm going to make something for all of us to eat. Is anyone hungry?"

Everyone kind of nodded silently and she got up quickly, heading into the kitchen and preparing something to eat.

* * *

At the other side of town—about fifteen minutes away from the apartment complex—Sora sat uncomfortably in her shared office space. Her partner had just gone home an hour ago but Sora stayed where she was.

She knew that none of her friends would come check her work building. They all even called her work phone a couple times, but she never picked up. She couldn't face them right now. After everything that happened and everything that was going to happen.

It was almost seven o'clock in the evening and Sora fidgeted with a pen, trying to concentrate on the work she had before her. Her company needed a shipment of five-hundred peasant skirts sent out today, but Sora had yet to place in the order.

How could she let herself do this? She let out a whimpered sigh and rubbed her temples, placing her elbows loudly on the table.

Waking up next to a complete stranger in the morning was not something she was used to. She barely remembered his name…Willis? Was that it? Yeah, that had to be it. She wanted to smack herself incredibly hard for what she had done.

On top of all this, Yamato's wedding was in three months. _Three months_. That was barely any time to get used to the fact that he was marrying someone else. Someone that wasn't _Sora_.

She couldn't believe it. Somehow, her life was spiraling down and she couldn't stop it. If she never saw that invitation, she never would have gone to that bar. If she never went to that bar, she never would have met Willis. If she had never met Willis, that guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn't be clawing at her.

She ran multiple fingers through her knotted and tussled auburn hair. She felt disgusting in the clothes that she had worn the day before. She felt disgusting in her own skin after what she'd done. _God_, she didn't even know the man. How could she sleep with someone she didn't know?!

She felt the tears welling up in her eyes again and bit her lip hard enough to cause it to bleed. She needed to speak to Taichi. Before, when Yamato had first left, she and Taichi started this tradition: every time one of them was feeling depressed and lost, they would go to the other for comfort and talk the whole night for as long as they could.

Sora went to Taichi's apartment almost every other night when Yamato left. They would just sit in his living room, drinking coffee to sustain them, and talking about everything and anything. It was a kind of therapy Sora had gotten used to.

Deciding that it might be best to go home now instead of worrying everyone, she quickly got up and took her belongings and some work with her. Locking the door and heading down the stairs, Sora exited the building and made her way to her car.

She drove back to the apartment slowly and cautiously. Her head was still pounding from the horrible hangover she was suffering from. She was so exhausted that her eyes were shutting reflexively and she had to force herself to stay up and drive carefully.

Once she reached the apartment complex, she parked and stayed in her car for another five minutes. Her heart was pounding so loud that she couldn't hear anything else. How was she going to explain herself to everyone? How could she even go back with her head held high after what she'd done? With a quick, sharp breath, she forced herself out of the car and shakily walked into the building. She slowly walked up the stairs, gripping the railing for dear life so she wouldn't fall. As she reached her floor, she closed her eyes for a few seconds and walked down the hall.

She didn't know how long she stood in front of her door, but she knew she had to go in sooner or later. She searched for her keys in her bag and clumsily opened the door.

At this point, only Hikari, Miyako, Mimi, Takeru, and Iori were in the girls' apartment. Koushiro, Takeru, and Miyako sat on the couch while Mimi and Hikari were cleaning up some dirty dishes.

The three on the couch turned and their eyes widened when they saw the unkempt, but _safe_, Sora standing in the doorway. Miyako quickly shot up and ran to Sora, screaming happily as she did so. Sora almost collapsed from Miyako's weight because she was barely able to hold herself up. Takeru and Iori quickly followed Miyako's footsteps and ran towards Sora.

"Sora, oh, my god, thank god you're okay! What the hell happened?! Where did you go?! You had us all worried sick! We searched everywhere for you and couldn't find you anywhere! Oh, my god, don't ever do this to me again! Do you-"

Iori gave a grin and pulled Miyako off Sora, who was nervously looking at the floor. Iori took her hand and pulled her into the room, leading her to the couch. Mimi and Hikari ran in when they heard Miyako's squeals of joy and followed her actions.

They shrieked happily, running over to their best friend on the couch and crushing her unknowingly. They both started saying the same things Miyako had said, but at different times. Sora couldn't take all the noise and rambunctious chatter around her so she quickly brought her hands up to her face, trying to hide herself. Takeru noticed this and shushed the two girls. They both quieted down slowly and pulled away from their friend.

Everyone became silent as they heard Sora's sobs silently echoing through the room.

"Oh, Sora…" Hikari stated, enveloping her elder friend into her arms and pulling Sora towards her. Mimi gave a knowing look to Iori and Takeru, who nodded and left the room silently, closing the door behind them and heading for their apartment room.

Miyako sat down in front of Sora, rubbing her knees softly as Mimi moved some of Sora's hair out of her face.

"I-I'm so sorry," Sora cried, wiping her eyes and trying to stop her sobs. Hikari shook her head and loosened her embrace.

"Don't worry about it, Sora, you're home now."

* * *

Miyako, Mimi, and Hikari sat at the round dining table as they waited for Sora to finish showering. Sora had told them not to tell Taichi that she was home yet because she wanted to speak with him herself.

Mimi sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"So, whatever happened between Sora and Yamato?" she asked quietly. Miyako and Hikari looked at each other and sighed.

"I think Sora should be the one to tell you, Mimi," Miyako stated, sitting back in her chair. Hikari bit her lip and tapped on the table softly.

"I wonder where she was this whole time…I really hope she's okay," Hikari said with a hint of worry. Sora never really explained anything to the three girls. They all guessed that she wasn't ready to tell them anything. Sora usually kept most of her feelings to herself. Miyako and Mimi nodded with agreement.

Sora walked out of the bathroom in her regular pajamas and smiled solemnly at her three roommates. Her hair was wet and hanging below her shoulders and the other girls could notice how her mood was slightly lifted.

"I'm sorry to worry all of you…" she apologized uneasily, walking over to the table and standing near Mimi, putting an arm around her. All three girls smiled and got up to give their best friend a warm, group hug.

"Just don't ever do it again!" Miyako declared with a grin, pulling away. Sora chuckled and placed a hand over her heart.

"I promise."

"Are you feeling a little better now?" Mimi asked, fixing some of Sora's wet hair. Sora looked at her sweetly and smiled, nodding.

"If you guys don't mind, I'm going over to Taichi's for a bit. You all can go to sleep, don't wait up for me," she informed, straightening out her pajamas. Miyako and Hikari nodded knowingly. They knew how Sora would always turn to Taichi when she had a problem that she couldn't handle.

Mimi quirked an eyebrow and watched Sora as she left the apartment room.

"Why is she going to Taichi's place?"

Miyako chuckled and headed towards her and Hikari's room.

"Every time some 'Yamato' related problem brings Sora down, she goes to Taichi to talk. They've been doing this for a while now. It tends to calm her down," Miyako explained. Hikari nodded with agreement.

"Yeah, they've always been close friends. Sora turns to Taichi before she turns to anyone."

Mimi let out an 'oh' and looked at the front door again. Why couldn't she be that close to Taichi?

Sora waited a few seconds outside Taichi's door and fidgeted slightly. She knew he was going to be angry. Very, _very_ angry.

Mustering up some courage, Sora knocked on the door and waited. She heard footsteps approaching and her stomach clenched in fear as Taichi opened the door, his brown eyes widening as he noticed his best friend right in front of him.

"D-Do you mind if I come in?" she asked him, biting her lip. Sora was thrown of guard when Taichi quickly crushed her in an embrace. She was half-expecting him to slap her or something. He pulled away and glared playfully.

"Oh, you are in _big_ trouble."

Sora chuckled and tucked some auburn hair behind her ear while she smiled solemnly.

"I know."

Sora walked in and Taichi closed the door behind her. Sora walked over to the living room, taking a seat on the black couch as Taichi went to the coffee machine and poured some coffee in two mugs.

He brought them over and handed one to Sora a bit forcefully and Sora couldn't help but smirk. Yup, he was angry.

He sat down next to her and put his legs on the small table in front of the couch.

"Okay, let's start with where you went after you read the invitation."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: See I told you I'd update quick haha. Recently I've been spitting out so many chapters to this story its ridiculous haha. PLEASEE reveiw :( and btw, I made up Tokyo Press.

* * *

Koushiro rolled over on his bed and looked at the clock on his dresser. 8:15 am. With a groan and a slight yawn, he forced himself to sit up on his bed and rub the sleepiness from his eyes. Looking over to his right, he chuckled at the discombobulated Daisuke on his own bed. Daisuke was practically hanging off the bed with the covers spread all over the place. His mouth was slightly open and his snoring was actually quite loud. Koushiro rolled his eyes at the sight and got up off his bed.

Grabbing some clothes and a towel, Koushiro made his way to the bathroom. Tuesdays were always the worst day. It wasn't quite the middle of the week yet, but it wasn't the beginning. It was such a random and pointless day.

After taking a quick shower and combing his hair so it wasn't sticking out in a million directions, Koushiro walked out of the bathroom and down the hall towards the living room and kitchen.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw Sora sleeping soundly on the couch and Taichi desperately trying to finish his paper work on the kitchen counter.

"She came home?! Thank god she's safe," Koushiro whispered as he walked over to Taichi, who didn't even turn around because he was so engrossed in his work. Taichi sighed and smiled slightly, glancing at the sleeping red-head and then looking at Koushiro.

"Yeah…she's safe."

Koushiro knew how Taichi and Sora were and wasn't surprised to see Sora sleeping on the couch. This wasn't her first time staying over. She'd be on the couch sleeping almost every day when Yamato had first left. Koushiro knew how close Sora and Taichi were when it came to Yamato. They both had been betrayed by him, after all.

"What time did she get back? Where was she this whole time?" Koushiro asked quickly, sitting down beside Taichi. Taichi glanced at him and then looked back at his papers with a smirk.

"Wow, Koushiro, I think this is the most you've talked to me since Friday," he stated with a chuckle. Koushiro blushed and looked at the counter top. He knew he was being snobby towards Taichi and ignoring him a little, but he completely forgot about doing all that when Sora had disappeared. Mimi instantly came into Koushiro's mind and he sighed, biting is lip.

"She got back late at night, yesterday…she was basically at her work building the day before," Taichi explained, "I'm not sure if she'd want me to tell you the rest of the story."

Koushiro glanced at Taichi again. His one hand was grabbing his head while the other worked feverishly to finish all the paperwork.

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

Taichi didn't look up at Koushiro's question and shrugged his shoulders.

"Barely. We talked for most of the night and I took a quick nap for an hour before getting up and working on this shit," he explicated with a sigh, "I have to be at work in an hour."

Koushiro nodded his head and headed over to the refrigerator and grabbed the carton of eggs.

"You keep working, I'll make breakfast," he declared with a smile. Taichi thanked him kindly and continued to work.

At the smell of food, Sora's eyelids fluttered open and she quickly sat up, looking around. She smiled when she saw Koushiro making breakfast and Taichi working at the counter.

Getting up, she started walking toward the two boys.

"Good morning," she stated with a smile. Taichi turned around, as well as Koushiro. Koushiro grinned and went over to her quickly to give a hug.

"You are a _crazy_ woman, Sora Takenouchi," he stated, hugging her even harder. Sora laughed and pulled away.

"I know."

He walked back to the stove and started cooking while Sora yawned and sat down next to Taichi, looking at the work he was doing. She suddenly realized that she held Taichi up all night to talk so he wasn't able to do his work.

"Aw, I'm so sorry, Taichi. I didn't know you had so much work to do otherwise I wouldn't have bothered you," she apologized, frowning slightly. Taichi rolled his eyes and pushed her a little.

"Shut up. You know I'd force you to talk to me, anyway," he stated with a grin. Sora rolled her eyes, as well, and rubbed her eyes again. Koushiro took out three plates and filled them with scrambled eggs. He handed the plates over to Taichi and Sora as he took a seat on the other side of Taichi.

"So, are you going to work, Sora," Koushiro asked cautiously, not wanting to swamp her with too many questions. He was surprised to see how composed she looked, though. Taichi must have really calmed her down.

Sora greedily dug into her eggs and shrugged her shoulders at Koushiro's query.

"I think I have to…I have a lot of work to finish," she stated with a sigh. Even though she was at work yesterday, she had gotten no work done at all. Taichi glanced at her from the corner of his eye for a second and then back at the papers in front of him.

"I don't think you should go. Just stay home and relax," he suggested. Koushiro agreed, nodding at Taichi's statement. Sora shrugged her shoulders again and bit her lip. She'd rather be at work then 'relaxing' at home. If she stayed at the apartment, her mind would constantly wander back to the events of the previous days.

"Sora?!"

Daisuke stood at end of the hallway, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. His hair was still disheveled from sleep and he wore his circus pajamas. He quickly ran to the red-head and crushed her in an embrace. Taichi chuckled at this, got up, and headed towards the bathroom to take a shower.

"I can't believe you're back! Are you okay?!" he asked quite loudly. Sora chuckled and pulled away from him.

"I'm fine, Daisuke."

"Good! If you want, I'll beat Yamato up for you. I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do with my time," he stated, throwing his fist into the palm of his other hand, menacingly. Sora looked down at the mention of Yamato's name and shook her head.

"It's fine…"

Koushiro noticed this and quickly went by Sora's side, placing an arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Sora. You have us to take care of you," Koushiro stated, talking about everyone; their whole group of friends. Sora smiled and nodded.

As Koushiro and Taichi got ready for work—and Daisuke conveniently readied the couch for another day of movies and slumping around—Sora decided that it might be a good idea to head back to her apartment.

She opened the door and walked in to see Miyako brewing some coffee, all set in her formal attire for work, and Hikari readying her bag for another day at the elementary school. Both girls looked up and smiled at Sora as she walked in.

"Feeling better?" Hikari asked, walking up to her and enveloping her in a warm embrace. Sora nodded as she pulled away and headed for the small dining table, taking a seat.

"I don't think I'm going to work today," Sora stated finally, deciding that it might be too much for her to stress herself out with the hassles of the fashion industry. Miyako turned around and pushed up her glasses.

"Do you want one of us to stay home with you?" she asked sweetly. Sora shook her head and smiled.

"It's okay. I'm just going to sleep and stuff," she stated nonchalantly. Mimi walked out of her room in her waitress uniform. It was a small black dress with a white apron on top. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail so her beautiful face lit up the room. Mimi walked over to the dining table and sat down next to Sora.

"Hey! Are you feeling better?" she also asked. Sora smiled and nodded, again. Hikari laughed and sat down in the next empty chair, across from Sora.

"You look a lot better. How long did you and Taichi talk for?" she asked, moving some light brown hair out of her face. Sora bit her lip and looked up, trying to remember how long they'd actually talked for.

"I don't really remember…most of the night, I think," she stated with a sigh, trying to rub the rest of the sleep out of her eyes. Mimi looked at Sora for a second and then looked away. How was she able to hold a conversation with Taichi for _that_ long while Mimi could only talk to him for no longer than ten minutes?

Miyako took her coffee and sat in the last chair, across from Mimi.

"I don't know how you two do it. By eleven o'clock, I'm already drooling," she explained with a face. Sora laughed and shrugged her shoulders. Hikari got up and grabbed her bag.

"Alright, guys, I have to get to the school now. I'll see you all later today," she said as she headed towards the door and left. Miyako followed her lead and picked up her laptop bag.

"Ugh, yeah I better get going, too. Bye Sora, I'll see you at home later. Bye Mimi!" she exclaimed a little too happily. Before she could walk out the door, she turned back to Sora and grinned sheepishly, "And if someone calls the apartment for me today, like some guy with a really sexy voice, can you let me know ASAP?"

Sora raised her brow and chuckled.

"Of course…?

Miyako grinned and left with a wave. Sora turned and looked at Mimi questioningly. Mimi shrugged and sighed.

"She went on a blind date with some guy and hasn't been able to stop talking about him since," she explained to Sora. Sora let out an 'oh' and laughed. That was just like Miyako to get worked up over some guy.

The two best friends didn't really talk. Sora stared at the table awkwardly while Mimi glared at the floor.

"So you and Taichi…do you always stay over his place when something like _this_ happens?" Mimi asked a little snobbishly, looking at her toes. Sora looked at her with a raised brow but understood why she was being scornful.

"We just _talk_, Mimi…"

Mimi shrugged her shoulders and looked at Sora's tired face.

"You were at his place all night and you're telling me that all you guys did was talk?" she asked while examining any movements Sora made that might give her away. Sora laughed and shook her head.

"Mimi, I promise you, that's all we did. He's _all yours_. I mean, you're always the one telling me he's like a brother to me, aren't you? And that's it. He's just a brother to me. Come on, Mimi," Sora explained with a sigh and a smile. Mimi looked at her friend apologetically and sighed.

"I'm sorry…but I don't know Sora…You're so close to him! I wish I was that close to him," she stated with a pout. Sora leaned back in her chair and chuckled.

"If you were that close to him then he'd be like a brother to you, too," she declared. Mimi thought about it for a second and pursed her lips. That was true, "and besides, why would I do anything with Taichi when I know you're practically in love with his goofy ass?"

Mimi laughed and hugged her best friend.

"I'm sorry! I'm always so selfish! You're going through this major crisis and all I do is worry about my self," she said with a frown. Sora smiled and shook her head.

"It's okay, Mimi…jealousy is a bitch."

Mimi sighed and agreed. She bit her lip and then looked at Sora again.

"So…what did happen between you and this Yamato guy?"

Sora shifted uncomfortably in her seat and let out a long breath. Mimi was the only one that didn't know what had happened between the two.

"Well…see, Yamato and I always had this _thing_ in high school. You know, where we both liked each other but neither of us did anything about it. Well, finally, freshman year in college he asked me out. We dated all of college and got really close. See, Yamato was in a band called 'The Wolverines'. In college, Yamato's band was very popular and he started to have a lot of fan-girls on campus. It never bothered me, though, because I trusted him, you know?" she stopped. Mimi nodded and looked at Sora sympathetically. Sora sighed and continued.

"Well, after we all graduated, we found this apartment building. Three years ago, I lived in this apartment with Miyako and Hikari while Taichi lived across the hall with Yamato. Jyou, Takeru, and Koushiro used to live in the apartment next to Taichi and Yamato's. At that time, Yamato's band was becoming even more famous and he started to spend little time with all of us. I tried not let it get to me, as much, but I couldn't help it…I was really starting to miss him.

"One day he came home with news…his band was going to get signed and was offered to go on tour with this other popular band. Yamato couldn't turn down the offer and, because he was so happy, I was supportive—even though he'd be gone for three months.

"For the first few weeks, he'd call me and write to me. But soon, everything just stopped. I tried not to let it get to me. I thought that he was busy working and playing concerts that he didn't have time. Finally, he came back home. He was so different." Sora closed her eyes as if she was trying to forget it ever happened.

"He was always cranky and never really wanted to do anything. He started smoking and became a little temperamental. I thought that it was just a temporary thing, you know? But I was wrong. One day some woman came knocking on my door. I opened it and she was looking for Yamato. She claimed that she was his _girlfriend_…I nearly smacked her right then and there. Yamato walked out of his room at that moment and stood there with his eyes all wide. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. I was devastated…I mean, the Yamato I knew never would cheat on me. We didn't talk for days…but then I decided to forgive him." Mimi looked at Sora shockingly.

"You forgave him for that?! Sora!"

Sora sighed and shook her head.

"What was I supposed to do?! I was in love with him…and I thought he was the one I'd spend the rest of my life with. I thought I'd be able to get over it. I guess I kind of did…for the next few weeks everything went back to normal. Yamato treated me the way he used to treat me. He'd surprise me at work, again, and bring me gifts. I thought that all our problems were over. It turns out we were both fooling ourselves, trying to bury everything that happened rather than talk about it. One day, I was looking for Taichi in their apartment and I caught Yamato kissing some black-haired girl. I didn't confront him on it for a while but it was eating me away. When I did mention it, he flipped out. He thought that I 'invaded' his privacy by coming into his apartment," Sora paused to scoff, "I mean I was looking for Taichi that day, I wasn't planning on 'invading his privacy'. He tried to turn everything on me, saying that I was too clingy and he needed space. At the time, I thought he was right and agreed. The next day, he just left. All his stuff wasn't in Taichi's apartment anymore…he just disappeared."

Mimi moved closer to Sora as she noticed the tears forming on her lashes. She held onto Sora's hands and signaled her to continue.

"I thought it was only temporary. I waited a year for him to come back. I mean, everyone knew I was faking happiness at the time…especially Taichi. He knew me too well to figure I was happy. He told me that if I ever needed to talk to him, his door would always be open. One night, I decided that I couldn't take it anymore and I went over his place to talk to him. That's how our tradition started," Sora explained, wiping her tears and winking at Mimi with a smile. Mimi blushed slightly and rolled her eyes.

"It was _so_ hard the first time we talked. I told Taichi everything…I mean Taichi was mad at Yamato for his own reasons, but this angered him even more. We both understood each other. That's why whenever I have a Yamato related problem, I always go to Taichi…anyway, I hadn't heard from Yamato in, I think, _three years_. The wedding invitation is the first form of contact I've had with him since he left. What a wake up call, right? I've been moping around about him for three years, barely dating anyone, and he's getting married to someone else…Taichi and I both decided that we aren't going to the wedding. We're sending our declines tomorrow."

Mimi rubbed Sora's back comfortingly and shook her head.

"Wow, what a bastard."

Sora stayed silent for a bit.

"I'm so stupid, Mimi. Why couldn't I get over him, huh? Why is it so hard to get over him?" she asked quietly, tears forming once again. Mimi pulled Sora into an embrace and held her close.

"Because you're in love with him."

* * *

Takeru let out a long breath as he sat in his little cubicle at work. It wasn't easy working for Tokyo Press. Everything and everyone was moving at the speed of light, running all over the place trying to get their latest articles and sudden news into the paper.

Takeru brought his head to his hands and grabbed fistfuls of his golden-blond hair. It had been impossible for him to concentrate on anything with everything going on. Yes, Sora was home safe, but that didn't defeat the fact that he felt horrible for thinking she'd be over Yamato.

Not only that, he still hadn't talked to Taichi since they fought two days ago…he really wasn't looking forward to confronting Taichi. He also had to find a way of contacting Yamato so he could explain to his brother everything that had happened…or maybe he shouldn't do that.

Everyone would probably be angry if Takeru kept his brother informed with what was going on. It was their private problem and Yamato was the cause of all of it, right?

Takeru looked straight ahead at the bright white wall in front of him and sighed.

Why was his life so complicated? A few days ago, everything was perfect and easy: he was doing well at work, his friends were all happy, and he had Hikari. Takeru glanced at the phone when he thought of Hikari. He knew he shouldn't call her because she was probably teaching, but he really needed to talk to her.

Hikari was the only thing going _right_ in his life, right now.

Takeru debated for a while and then decided that he didn't want to worry her. He rubbed his temples and shut his eyes. What was he going to do? Taichi and Sora probably wouldn't come to the wedding…should Takeru tell Yamato that? Would Yamato even do anything?

Deciding to push all those thoughts away, Takeru tried to concentrate on the paper in front of him. He was writing an article about the recent opening of a restaurant…too bad he didn't give a crap to actually put some emotion into it.

There was a slight knock on Takeru's door that made him look up at the rectangular window on the door. He grinned when he saw Ken and motioned for him to come in.

Ken closed the door behind him and smiled at Takeru kindly. He was wearing dressy pants with a blue button up shirt. His badge was attached to his belt, along with his gun. Since he was a detective and higher ranked than a regular cop, he didn't have to wear the uniform.

"Hey, Ken. What brings you here?" Takeru asked, trying to tidy up his tiny desk. Ken shrugged and walked over to the desk.

"I was in the area, patrolling around and decided to drop by," Ken noticed the exhausted look on Takeru's face and furrowed his brow, "Working hard?"

Takeru rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Not really. I'm just having some personal issues right now that I can't seem to deal with," he stated, looking up at his navy-haired friend. Ken smiled sympathetically and motioned for Takeru to get up.

"Well, if you're not that busy, want to get a cup of coffee?"

Takeru thought about it for a second. He obviously wasn't going to get any work done so, why not? He got up and followed Ken out his cubicle, locking the door behind him. Takeru got into the passenger seat of Ken's police car and sat silently as Ken drove up the block to the nearest coffee house.

A few minutes later, they both were sitting across from each other, idly sipping their coffees. Takeru had, somehow, spilt out his whole situation to Ken. Ken listened intently, nodding along.

"I don't know, Ken. My brother really is sorry…"

Ken took another sip of his coffee and gazed at Takeru.

"I think you should be there for Sora and Taichi, first, because it's obvious that you're brother is ready to talk to them, but they're obviously not comfortable about it," he suggested wisely. Takeru tilted his head and sighed.

"I guess…but I still feel like my brother should know how they reacted," he stated. Ken smiled and put down his cup.

"I think that Taichi and Sora should be the ones to tell him that, not you," he retorted with a smirk. Takeru glared slightly, but knew Ken was right.

"Ugh, why are you always right?"

Ken laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Feeling better about the whole situation?"

"Yeah, thanks, man," Takeru smiled gratefully. Ken returned the smile and sighed.

"So, I really liked you're friend Miyako," Ken stated coolly, smirking at Takeru. Takeru almost choked on his coffee and stared at him with wide blue eyes.

"Are you serious? Really…Miyako?!" he asked incredulously. Ken laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. She's different and she's really cute. She gave me her number but I just want to make sure with you that it's okay for me to date her," he explained politely. Takeru laughed obnoxiously and waved it off.

"Ken, you are_ welcome_ to date her, trust me. Just know what you're getting yourself into."

Ken laughed at this and shook his head.

"What kind of friend are you, talking that way about her?" he asked with a chuckle. Takeru grinned as he continued, "And don't worry, I think I can handle her. I am a cop, after all."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Here's the new chapter! Sorry it's really short.

* * *

The best part about not going to the internship at the hospital is..._not_ going to the internship. Jyou sighed, waking up conveniently at one in the afternoon. He smiled at his ceiling fan as it spun around and stretched, relishing the feeling of tranquility. He finally understood why Taichi and Daisuke loved sleeping in: it was the laziest yet most relaxing thing in the world.

Lifting himself off the bed, Jyou got up and took a well deserved shower. How long had it been since he had actually enjoyed a nice, long shower? God, the internship was really taking over his life, wasn't it?

After the shower he decided to watch a little bit of television, considering he hadn't done so in a long time, but even while he was enjoying his day off, he couldn't help but feel like he was cheating himself. It was wrong to call in sick today. If he was going to become a successful doctor he shouldn't be so selfish, right? His job was to help people whenever he could, not sit around on his ass and watch television.

Jyou let out a soft sigh and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. He knew he couldn't be alone without feeling guilty so he turned off the television and exited his apartment room. He smiled when he remembered that Daisuke was currently unemployed and decided to give him some company. He knocked softly on his apartment door and was soon greeted with a disheveled Daisuke. He grinned at the sight of Jyou.

"Did you _seriously_ take a day off today?! I'm so proud of you, Jyou!" Daisuke exclaimed as he motioned for Jyou to enter. Jyou chuckled and took a seat on Daisuke's couch, which had a random blanket spewed on it.

"So what have you been doing today, Daisuke?" he asked. Daisuke took out two cans of beer from the fridge and then took a seat next to Jyou, offering him one. Jyou hesitated and shook his head.

"Nothing really. Drinking and watching TV. There's nothing else to do," he stated with a sigh. Jyou smiled and leaned back on the couch.

"I kind of like having nothing to do. It's refreshing."

"Yeah, well thats because most of the time you _do_ have something to do," Daisuke spat, rolling his eyes. Jyou sighed and shrugged his shoulders. They both sat there for a while in silence as they watched some boring television show. Daisuke finished his beer rather quickly and opened up the one Jyou refused to. Jyou looked around and saw two other cans on the floor.

"You're going to get so fat if all you keep drinking is beer," he stated. Daisuke scoffed and grinned.

"That would be an accomplishment."

"It would be an accomplishment to get fat?"

"Yes! It shows that I've actually been doing _something_ rather than _nothing_."

Jyou stared at him with bewilderment and shook his head.

"Daisuke...please go find a job."

Before Daisuke could reply, Sora walked into the room and raised her eyebrows when she saw Jyou.

"Jyou? Why aren't you at the hospital?!" she asked. Jyou didn't answer because he grinned and walked over to the red-haired girl, crushing her in an embrace. He remembered Iori mentioning something about Sora returning home but he had completely forgotten in his selfish stupor.

"Sora, thank god you're okay!"

Sora laughed and pulled away, getting used to everyone joyously crushing her every time she entered a room.

"Are _you_ okay?! Because you rarely ever miss a day of work," she asked, tilting her head. Jyou smiled, noticing that Sora looked very comfy in her black sweat pants and emerald green tee-shirt.

"Everyone needs some time off."

"That's it!"

Both Sora and Jyou turned to look at Daisuke as he jumped up, gawking at the television. The duo walked up to him and stared at the TV. A car dealership commercial was playing.

"What's it?" Jyou asked. Daisuke turned and took hold of Sora's shoulders since she was the one standing next to him. He shook her slightly and grinned.

"I could be a car dealer!"

Sora and Jyou both stared at him incredulously.

"What?"

"Come again?"

Daisuke rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly.

"A-Car-Dealer. I could totally be one!"

Jyou laughed and looked at him skeptically.

"Isn't that a little random, Daisuke? Going from working a noodle cart to selling cars?"

Daisuke scoffed and shook his head, walking towards Jyou.

"Of course not! Come on. What's the _one _thing I'm good at?"

Sora and Jyou stood quiet for a while, looking at each other nervously while trying to come up with an answer. Daisuke glared and crossed his arms.

"Talking! I'm good at talking."

Jyou and Sora both let out an "oh" and tried to agree as best they could by nodding their heads. Daisuke grinned.

"So I'd be a great car dealer! I can be pretty persuasive, right?!"

"Of course!" Sora smiled but Jyou looked at her while giving a nudge. Daisuke smiled and grasped Sora's hand.

"You know what? I'm going to go find the number to the closest one around here right now," he exclaimed, rushing to his shared room with Koushiro to find the phone book. Jyou gave Sora a disapproving look.

"You know that isn't a good career path for him, Sora. Why'd you lead him on?"

Sora shrugged and sat down on the couch with Jyou following.

"Look, if he believes he can do it, I'm sure he will. But if it's not the right job for him, then he'll figure that out himself. At least for now he might be able to have a job," she stated. Jyou sighed and ran a few fingers through his hair.

"I don't understand. He has a perfectly good degree in business and could get any job in that field but he'd rather be selling _cars_?" he stated, crossing his arms. Sora turned to look at the older man and gave him a hard look.

"Who are we to tell him what to do? He should have a job that makes him happy even if it's not one everyone aspires to have," she snapped softly. Jyou looked at the ground with guilt, knowing Sora was right.

"I'm sorry...I'm just trying to think of what's best for him."

Sora sighed and placed her hand on Jyou's shoulder.

"Only he knows what's best for him, right?"

"I guess..."

Sora frowned and looked at the television, now fidgeting with her tee-shirt.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, Jyou. I'm just really out of it today," she explained. Jyou examined her for a second and smiled, putting a comforting arm around her. He didn't want to question her about her disappearance even though he was dying to know what happened.

Daisuke walked out of his room with the phone book in his hand and a phone in his other hand, dialing quickly. He placed the book on the counter and waited eagerly as the phone rang.

"Hi, my names Daisuke!... Yeah, I'm actually interested in having a job as a car dealer at your dealership..."

Sora and Jyou turned to watch the younger man pace around as he talked on the phone. When he hung up, he grinned and did a quick dance in his place.

"I'm gonna get a job, I'm gonna get a job," he chanted while dancing over to Jyou and Sora, squeezing himself between the two of them and wrapping his arms around them. Sora laughed as he crushed both her and Jyou while Jyou faked a choke.

* * *

Miyako sighed as her co-workers started to send her emails on certain problems that the software they were designing came up. She, honestly, could not care less at this point. Every phone call she got from her boss or co-workers, she'd pray it was Ken. It had been two days since their date..._two days_! What the hell was taking him so long?!

Okay, maybe she needed to tone down on the obsessiveness just a bit. She knew that was what drove most of her other boyfriends away...if you could even call them boyfriends. They hadn't hung around long enough to even be called boyfriends. Miyako knew guys didn't like it but she couldn't help but be clingy; thats just who she was.

Miyako sighed and grumbled as she sent emails back to her co-workers on her laptop and main computer. Her room was a very small cubical in a hallway located with many more cubicles. Actually, 3 floors in the building occupied hallways upon hallways of cubicles. There were a lot of workers in the company Miyako worked at so the pay wasn't anything too enormous, but it was enough to keep her happy.

Miyako jumped a little when her cell phone started to vibrate and she groaned with annoyance when she thought it was her boss calling. She answered monotonously but quickly regretted it when she heard the sultry voice of Ken on the other side.

"Miyako? Hey, this is Ken," he stated coolly. Miyako's heart started to race and she quickly panicked. What should she say?! Maybe something like "Hey." No, not excited enough. What about something like "Oh my god, Ken! Hi!" No, thats _too_ excited.

"Ken? Oh right, Takeru's friend!" she said stupidly, "How'd you even get my number?!"

There was a slight pause and then Ken cleared his throat.

"Um, you gave it to me," he replied with a slight chuckle. Oh my god, she could not have been any ditzier. She blushed ferociously and hit her head softly.

"Oh, r-right. I'm sorry, I forgot. You see, I've been giving my number out a-a lot lately so I kind of lost track," she retorted quickly, wanting to hit herself in the head again. Ken was a silent for a little bit o the other end and Miyako couldn't help but wonder if he was jealous.

"Well, if you're too busy, then I'm sorry for calling," he responding nonchalantly. Miyako quickly panicked.

"No! I'm actually not busy at all! You see, I give out my number but no one ever calls me back-"

"Miyako," Ken interrupted with a laugh, "I was wondering if you wanted to go out this Friday."

Miyako's heart stopped and she couldn't help but grin like a complete idiot. She knew she had to play it cool, though.

"Oh, Friday? Hm, let me check my schedule to see if I'm doing anything," she paused to pretend she was looking through her imaginary planner. She could hear Ken chuckling on the other side, "Oh, nope I'm actually free!"

"Perfect. I'll pick you up at around 8. Does that sound good?" he asked. Miyako beamed.

"Yeah, sounds great!"

"Are you sure you don't have to check you're schedule to see if you're busy around that time?" he asked playfully. Miyako blushed and forced a chuckle.

"I'm sure I'm not busy."

"Great, I'll see you Friday then," he stated with suave. Miyako's stomach churched as they both said they're goodbyes. Once they hung up, she squealed rather loudly and jumped up from her chair. Suddenly, there was a knock at her cubicle door and she quickly calmed down. She opened it to see her boss standing there, with his arms crossed at his chest.

"Is everything okay in here, Ms. Inoue?"

She grinned and pushed up her glasses.

"Everything's perfect, sir. I guarantee it."

* * *

As the evening came close, everyone started finishing up whatever work they had left and packing up to go home. Miyako packed her laptop, Iori finished up a class on campus, Takeru was completing a current story, Koushiro made final changes on new software, and Hikari tidied up her classroom for the next day. Mimi was actually on her way home and as for Taichi, he was stuck at work for five more hours to finish up some things for his boss.

Mimi sighed as she walked into the apartment, taking her hair out of the annoying ponytail and shaking it out. She placed her purse on the small dining table and walked over to the couch to see Sora napping softly across it. Mimi took the little shrug that was lying on the top of the couch and spread it on top of Sora.

Changing out of her hideously ugly waitress uniform and into denim shorts and a light pink tank top. When she came out Sora was stirring on the couch and she lazily opened one eye, smiling slightly at her best friend.

"Hey, when did you get back?" Sora asked groggily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Mimi smiled and tucked some hair behind her ear.

"Just now, actually. So, what did you do all day?" she asked. Sora shrugged and stood up, neatly placing the shrug back on the couch.

"Nothing really, just hung around with Daisuke and Jyou, slept...and slept some more," she stated with a sigh. Mimi laughed and looked through the cupboards and cabinets for something quick to eat.

"You know I was thinking of catching a movie around seven with Taichi..." Mimi said randomly. Sora yawned and walked up to her, sitting down at the dining table.

"Really?"

"Yeah, just me and him. I want to get to talk to him more, you know? Spend quality time," she suggested. Sora smiled cunningly and propped her hand on the table while leaning her head against it.

"Movies, huh? Like a date?" she asked suggestively. Mimi blushed and grumbled as she opened a bag of chips and took a seat across from Sora.

"No, not like a date. Just two friends hanging out," she corrected, grabbing a hand full of chips and shoving them in her mouth. Sora laughed and shook her head.

"Well, you won't be able to tonight. Taichi's working late tonight. He won't be home till around ten o'clock," she informed. Mimi pouted.

"What?! How do you know?" she whined, glaring at her bag of chips.

"He called to see how I was doing and told me he had to do some special work for his boss or something. You know how he really wants that promotion," Sora reminded. Mimi sighed and placed her head on the table.

"It's not fair. It's like the universe doesn't want me to be with Taichi," she complained. Sora laughed and got up to grab a glass of water.

"Calm down, will you? You still have tomorrow," she explained, pouring two glasses with of water and sitting back down at the table, handing one to Mimi.

"Ugh, I guess. I was just preparing myself to do it tonight so it sucks that we can't go _tonight_," she grumbled. Sora smiled and rolled her eyes.

Hikari was next to walk into the apartment and smiled at her two roommates.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked while running a few fingers through her hair and dropping her stuff in her room.

"Nothing," Mimi stated quickly, blushing. Sora smirked and kept her mouth shut. Hikari came out of her room and gave Mimi a quizzical look.

Miyako walked in next and grinned at all her roommates, slamming the door shut.

"Guess what!" she exclaimed. Hikari laughed as she sat on the couch.

"Let me guess...Ken called you?" she stated with sureness. Miyako grinned and ran onto the couch, taking a seat next to Hikari and placing her laptop case on the floor.

"He asked to go on another date on Friday!" she exclaimed with glee.

"That's great!" Sora stated but then paused, "So how'd you meet this guy anyway?"

"Takeru and Hikari introduced me to him," she replied with a smile. Mimi huffed and scowled to herself.

"Thank god at least _one_ of us is dating. It's a little pathetic how the rest of us haven't gone on a date in so long," Mimi stated. Sora sighed awkwardly, not wanting to think about dating after her fiasco from the last two days. Hikari also didn't answer, blushing when she thought of her secret relationship with Takeru.

"Aw, it's okay, guys! If I can get a date, somehow, so can you three!"

Mimi thought of Taichi and groaned to herself. Sora was reminded of Yamato and sighed. Hikari bit her lip at the thought of Takeru and smiled.

They all realized how complicated their love lives were.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Here's the next chapter! Sorry for the slight hiatus, but college just started and I have a crap load of work that I am not used to... But, anyway, R&R!

* * *

Iori looked around anxiously as he walked out of the lecture hall. As he stepped out the door and into the sidewalk, the sun shun brightly into his eyes causing him to squint. He still searched feverishly around the campus for Akina, but she was nowhere to be found.

Iori sighed to himself as he neared his car. On Wednesdays he only had one class and it was in the morning so he was planning to spend the afternoon with his girlfriend...if she was even allowed to have such a title since she was married.

Two small hands covered his eyes and he smiled to himself knowingly.

"Guess who," the clear voice whispered into his ear before kissing it softly. Iori grabbed the smooth hands and pulled them away from his eyes, turning his body around slowly. While still holding her hands, he kissed her softly and Akina smiled against his lips.

As he pulled away, Iori returned the smile and tilted his head.

"I was looking all over for you. How was your last class?" he asked. Akina shrugged and moved some of her styled brown hair out of her face.

"It was okay," she stated rather bluntly. Iori opened the passenger seat to his old car and Akina jumped in happily.

"So where are we heading?" she asked, rolling down the window as Iori pulled out of the parking lot. Iori glanced at her and smiled.

"I was thinking we could go out to lunch at that new restaurant that opened," he explained. Akina looked at him while biting her lip.

"Uh, I don't think thats a good idea...Rei works in the building right next to it. It could be cutting it too close," she stated, not looking at Iori. Iori felt a slight ping of spite in the pit of his stomach and bit the insides of his mouth.

"Okay, well what about coffee?" he asked.

"The coffee shop by your apartment?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think thats a good idea, either. What if one of your friends catches us there?" she explained, fidgeting with her dark brown skirt. Iori let out a sigh.

"Well, that's the closest coffee place around here..."

"How about we get another room at that motel?" she asked with a wink, running her hand down his thigh slowly. Iori kept quiet for a second, not wanting to spend money on a motel room again. Every time he was with Akina, it always turned into sex and he was a little tired of it. He wanted to just hang out with her and spend some quality time, but she was always too worried about someone finding out about them.

Akina noticed his silence and looked at her skirt.

"I know this is hard, Iori, I really do, but I can't risk anyone finding out. And we have fun without being in the public, don't we?" she asked with a flirtatious smile. Iori clenched his jaw, getting a little angry. He didn't know why he was getting so exasperated. He should be happy to be spending time with her at all.

"Sure."

Akina sighed and looked out her window. There was an awkward silence for five minutes before Akina turned and looked at Iori again.

"How long have we been seeing each other, Iori? About two months now? What we have going is _so_ great. Why do you always try to change it?" she asked calmly, putting some of her bob styled brown hair behind her ear.

"Because you might think it's great but I'm sick of it, Akina. I'm tired of being in secret and sneaking around. I hate not being able to tell my friends and staying in crappy motels. Why can't I ever take you out for lunch at a fancy restaurant, huh? Or why can't I ever take you back to _my_ apartment. I know you're married but I don't care, all right? I love y-"

Iori cut himself off and pressed a little hard on the brakes as he approached a red light. Akina stared at him with wide eyes and held her breath.

"W-What were you going to say?"

"Nothing," he stated quickly, turning a slight shade of pink.

"You love me?"

"I n-never said that."

Akina's eyes started to tear up a little and she gave him a hard look.

"Don't lie to me, Iori."

He turned to her and sighed, shaking his head and looking back at the road as the light turned green.

"Okay...I love you. I'm madly in love with you, Akina."

Akina looked ahead at the road, a little in shock. Iori waited for her to respond but she didn't.

"Nothing?" he asked monotonously. Akina wiped the tears from her eyes and kept her mouth shut, not really being able to say anything. Iori clenched his jaw again, making a few different turns. The car was unbearably silent.

Iori stopped the car and reached over her to open the door. Akina looked up at her surroundings and frowned.

"I stopped a few houses down from yours so we won't look _suspicious_," he stated mockingly, motioning towards the door and staring at the steering wheel. Akina stared at him for a while and quietly left the car, walking down the sidewalk to her small home which she shared with her husband.

Iori stayed where he was so he could get his thoughts together. After taking a deep breath and rubbing his temples, he turned around and left her development. He wished he could talk to someone about this. He wished he could talk to Jyou, but Iori wasn't sure if the affair had just ended.

Even though it was completely rash of him to think this way, he did so anyway: Iori really hoped that this wasn't over.

* * *

Taichi scrunched his face as he put down the cardboard cup of coffee back on his small desk. He really had no idea why he kept drinking the disgusting beverage. It was probably because the caffeine was keeping him awake.

Taichi worked late last night and also got up early today to work. He sometimes started to question whether or not this promotion was really worth it, but every time he did question himself, he'd immediately slam his head on the desk in front of him and continue working.

If he wanted to have a family one day, he'd need to be able to support them, and the only way to support a family is with money.

There was a small knock on the door and Taichi called for whomever it was to enter. Catherine smiled at him and leaned against his door. Taichi then took this time to look over her tight black dress shirt and grey tweed pencil skirt. Her blonde hair was combed into a loose ponytail while her bangs were held back with a skinny, black headband. He couldn't help but let his eyes roam a little bit.

"You look tired," she stated knowingly, "boss has got you working over hours, hasn't he?"

Taichi sighed and rubbed his eyes, smiling at her cute accent.

"Yeah, and the only thing keeping me alive is this crappy coffee," he stated with disgust, rubbing his face. She laughed sweetly and shook her head.

"You know that we all think you're gonna get the promotion," she declared. Taichi looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Who does?"

"Almost the whole floor. Hisoka and Keitaru aren't even close to as good as you," she explained with a wink. Taichi laughed and leaned back on his chair. He had taken his suit jacket off and was just wearing his light blue button down shirt with a navy-striped tie, loosely fastened. Any woman would be crazy to think he didn't look attractive.

"I hope you guys are right. I'm practically killing myself to get this promotion," he said with a chuckle. Catherine noticed the tired look on his face and walked towards his desk.

"You look so tense, Taichi. Here," she stated as she got behind his chair and massaged his shoulders slowly. Taichi had to stop himself from grinning and leaned his head back to look up at her face.

"You should stop spoiling me," he explained with a smirk. Catherine laughed and shushed him, leaning down and bringing her chin to his shoulder. He sighed and closed his eyes. He wasn't going to complain. A hot blonde practically coming on to him was something he was not going to deny.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Both Taichi and Catherine looked up to see Mimi standing in the open doorway, one hand holding her clutch and the other on her hip. She looked cute with her rosy summer dress and hair flowing down below her shoulders.

"Hey Meems, what brings you here?" he asked with a smile, not noticing the jealousy spewing from her eyes. Catherine pulled away, but stayed where she was, standing behind his chair. She genuinely smiled at the brunette at the doorway.

"Nothing, I was just in the area and wanted to know if you wanted to grab some lunch together," she explained, trying not to glare at the beautiful blonde behind Taichi. Taichi quickly checked his watch and bit his lip.

"I don't know Meems, I have so much work to do. I wasn't planning on even going on my lunch break today," he explained, feeling a little guilty when he saw the pained expression on her flawless face.

"I-It's okay. Some other time, I guess," she said softly, turning around.

"Wait," Taichi called, standing up and smiling sheepishly, "How could I say no to that face."

Mimi turned and grinned at him, excitement rushing to her pretty facade.

"I can help you with some work while you go to lunch," Catherine offered, moving back as Taichi got up from his chair. He shook his head and ran a few fingers through his hair.

"No, It's okay. I'll get it done in no time," he smiled, winking at her again. Mimi watched this exchange and tried not to get red with anger.

"Okay, I'll see you soon then," she explained heading towards the door. Catherine smiled at Mimi as she left and headed towards her desk.

Taichi packed up some of his stuff and looked around to see if he needed anything.

"So...who was that?" Mimi asked as casually as she could. Taichi looked at her for a quick second and smiled, grabbing his cell phone and wallet.

"Catherine. She works on the same floor as I do," he explained. Mimi rolled her eyes and spoke quietly to herself.

"Hopefully not for long..."

"What? Why not?" Taichi asked as he finished gathering up a few things. Mimi turned red and stuttered.

"Uh, you know. When you get your promotion you won't even be on this floor," she quickly recovered. Taichi bought that and laughed.

"True! I can't wait to get a bigger room. If I get the promotion, that is," he explained walking up to her. Mimi grinned.

"You will! I'm telling you."

Taichi laughed and held out his elbow. Mimi blushed a little and latched onto it.

"So, where do you want to go for lunch?" he asked as they walked out the room and he locked the door. Mimi shrugged.

"Anywhere you want."

"Well, you're the future chef so you pick," he said with a smile. Mimi's heart melted when he remembered that intimate detail about her.

"Well, in that case, I know this great restaurant not too far from here. It actually just opened up."

* * *

Jyou sighed as he lifted his clipboard and read the next name on the list. Great, it was some little boy who broke his finger while sliding down the neighborhood park slide. The worst patients were the young children. There was too much whining and crying and spazzing and crying...

He opened the door to the room and tried to smile as sweetly as he could at the little boy, who's face was scrunched in annoyance and eyes puffy with tears as he sat on the small bed.

"Hello, Tyson, my name's Jyou. I'm just here to take a look at your finger and take a look at the x-ray stills that the previous doctor took," he explained, looking around for the little boys parents.

"Way to take forever! My finger's ready to fall off my hand!" he cried, glaring through tearful eyes. Jyou sighed and ignored the black haired boy.

"Where are your parents, Tyson?"

Almost on cue, his parents walked through the door with bags of chips and water. His mother smiled at Jyou with similar black hair as her son.

"Thank you so much for helping my son," she greeted, shaking his hand while her husband nodded with agreement.

"It's my job," he stated with a smile.

"Mommy!" Tyson whined, holding up his casted finger. She walked up to her son and kissed him softly on the head.

"We just want to know that his finger will be okay and heal normally," his father explained to Jyou. Jyou nodded and went to the folder located on the desk by the bed. He took out the x-ray stills and held them to the light.

"Well, I think the bones are still aligned properly so his finger should heal normally. If he's having any problems, just bring him back and we'll help him out," he explained. The father sighed with relief and thanked Jyou again.

"Daddy, is my finger going to come off?!" Tyson asked with a pout and his father grinned.

"No, sport, you're going to be just fine."

Jyou smiled and explained to the parents how they could help him take care of his finger and how to handle it. After he was done, they thanked him and Jyou left the room. He sighed and wiped his brow. That was probably the easiest encounter he'd had in a while.

He looked at his clipboard again and looked at the next name. It was written terribly and he couldn't really read the name. He could only make out the name "Jon". Damn, and he thought doctors' handwriting was supposed to be terrible. This handwriting might just be worse.

He headed towards that room and entered quickly, closing the door after he walked in. When he turned, he saw a fiery woman with dark auburn hair, spiked up femininely, somehow, sitting on the bed. She was wearing a white tank top and khaki shorts which were rolled up above her knees to show the bloody, black and blue injury on her right knee.

Well, this definitely wasn't a man named Jon.

She looked up and grinned at Jyou, showing almost all her teeth. Jyou could swear he'd seen her somewhere.

"Woah?! Don't I know you from somewhere?" she asked him. Jyou furrowed his brow and shrugged.

"I'm not quite sure. You look familiar to me, as well."

The woman scrunched her face, trying to remember him. Jyou smiled and walked up to her.

"Well, my names Jyou, and I'll be helping you out with your knee," he explained. The woman bit her lip and looked at the ceiling.

"Jyou...Jyou...hmm, that actually sounds familiar, too," she explained. Jyou chuckled and looked through his white coat to find some alcohol swabs.

"Well, what's you're name?"

"Jun Motomiya," she introduced with another big grin, holding out her hand so Jyou could shake it. Jyou, instead, looked at her with shock and cleared his throat.

"Wait, Jun Motomiya? As in Daisuke's older sister?!" he asked incredulously. Jun beamed.

"Yeah! Oh, Jyou! That's right! I met you at Daisuke's surprise twenty-first birthday party, back in the day," she remembered. Jyou laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. Wow, it's been a really long time," he stated. He was shocked at how different Jun looked. She looked so much more mature.

"Wow, this is so funny! The last time I saw you, you were a major nerd. You only talked to me about some medical discovery," she explained with a laugh. Jyou scowled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you've gotten really handsome and become a doctor. I'm much more interested now," she explained with a wink. Jyou blushed a little and cleared his throat, pushing up his glasses.

"S-So, what happened to your knee?" he stuttered slightly, examining her injured knee and taking a few notes. Jun sighed and shrugged.

"While I went climbing, I accidently slipped and busted up my knee," she explained. Jyou raised an eyebrow.

"Climbing, as in rock climbing?" he asked. Jun shook her head and smiled.

"No. Climbing, as in mountain climbing."

Jyou widened his eyes and the realized that she had a small layer of dirt on her face.

"Wow, you're crazy," he stated with a smile. Jun scowled playfully.

"No, I'm not. I just live for the thrill, that's all," she explained. Jyou rolled his eyes. What kind of life was that? He liked having security and balance in his life, not..._craziness. _Jun noticed his disapproval.

"Why don't you stop rolling your eyes and clean up my knee," she suggested with a smirk. Jyou sighed and did just that, cleaning it with alcohol swabs. Jun winced when the wet cloth stung through her skin.

"Can you move your leg?" he asked. Jun bit her lip and slowly tried to move it, moving her knee slowly. She was able to, but she twisted her face when it hurt a little. Jyou clicked his pen and wrote down some more stuff.

"You're knee is fine. It's just bruised," he explained. Jun let out a sigh and over-exaggeratedly wiped her brow.

"Thank god! I thought I wouldn't be able to climb for, like, weeks," she explained. Jyou chuckled dryly.

"Uh, I don't think you should climb for a couple of weeks, anyway," he advised. Jun scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you should let your knee heal. You don't want to injure it again while you're climbing," he elaborated. Jun laughed and shook her head.

"Wow, Jyou, you need to live a little," she sighed, shaking her spiked hair. Jyou sighed. He was too tired to deal with this.

"I'm serious. Why do you have to be so stuck up, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he ignored.

"Yeah, okay. Don't think I can't see right through you, Jyou," she stated with a smirk, propping both her hands on the bed and bobbing her eyebrows. Jyou stopped cleaning her wound and walked to the table by the bed, taking out some gauze and bandages.

"Enlighten me, Jun," he mocked while preparing to bandage up her knee.

"Well, we can start with the bags under your eyes. I mean, do you even get any sleep? I bet this job has got you working all hours. Are you even happy with all this? You sure don't look it," she started, crossing her arms, "You're as skinny as a toothpick. That makes me question whether you even have time to work out, or do _anything_ to benefit yourself and your body."

Jyou walked over to her knee and started to clean it again. He tried not to listen to her because everything she was saying was painfully true.

"You're hair is long and you're shoes look hideously worn and old. I guess you never have time to pamper and groom yourself, do you? You're probably too busy studying and working. I bet you haven't even gone out with a girl for so long that you've probably forgot how to flirt because I've been dropping a few hints that I'm interested and you haven't done anything," she elaborated with a wink. Jyou blushed again and started to place the gauze on her knee.

"Honestly, I think you're craving something more, but you're too scared to admit it to yourself," she ended. Jyou thought about it for a second and he knew it was completely true. He realized that he'd been trying to take better care of himself; he had taken off yesterday, but he knew it didn't matter. He still wasn't exciting. He still wasn't adventurous. He was still boring, plain Jyou.

Jun smiled at his silence.

"You should totally come climbing with me one day. If that's too intense, we could always go surfing, or something," she suggested. Jyou scoffed to himself. How could he hang out with a girl that completely mocked him and everything that he did for a living.

"No, It's okay. I think I'm content being here," he explained quickly, finishing up her knee. Jun noticed the annoyed and pained expression on Jyou's face so she smirked.

"Aw, come on, don't take it personally! If it'll make you feel better, you can tell me what you think about me and how I live my life," she offered. Jyou chuckled dryly again and shook his head.

"No, thanks."

"Figures," she stated wryly, wrinkling her nose. Jyou glared slightly, finally getting really irritated. He placed his clipboard roughly on the bed and crossed his arms, standing straight in front of her. Jun looked up with a smirk, proud to finally get something out of him.

"Well, I think that you're too 'out-going' for your own good. Looking at your legs and arms, I can tell that this isn't your first injury from all the scars and bruises, and it will probably not be your last. You're too busy trying to 'live your life' so you probably don't have a steady job with a good income. You're outspoken personality probably makes it so hard for you to have a normal conversation with anyone so people probably think you're a little odd. From what I remember at Daisuke's party, you've always tried to get attention from other people by putting yourself on the line and going crazy. You're never going to get anywhere in life until you get serious," he finished, looking at her smugly. He raised his eyebrows, though, when she grinned that toothy grin of hers and stood up slowly, trying not to put weight on her bad leg.

"Well, it's good to know how you feel about me," she said with quirk, getting close to him. Jyou started to feel a little uncomfortable and cleared his throat.

"Sorry, I don't know where all that came from," he apologized. Jun laughed and waved it off.

"Well, I do," she stated. Jyou looked at her quizically, "It came from in here."

Jun placed her palm on the middle of Jyou's chest.

"Right from your heart," she said with a small smile. Jyou coughed and blushed,

"A-Actually, your heart's more in this area," he explained insightfully, putting his hand over Jun's and moving it in the right place, right above his heart. Jun rolled her eyes and pulled away.

"Well, genius, what I'm trying to say is that it's okay to open up and speak your mind. So, stop being stuck up and try letting loose sometimes. It won't kill you," she stated flirtatiously, looking him up and down before heading towards the door and leaving the room, limping slightly.

Jyou stood in his spot for a while and stared at the spot Jun was just standing in. What the _hell_ just happened?

* * *

Koushiro smiled as he walked into the apartment and left the door open behind him. He'd finished his tasks for the day early so he got to come back home three hours early. After putting his stuff away, he went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.

He was deciding what he should do now that everyone else was probably at work. Even Daisuke wasn't home cause he had his interview right now.

After about an hour of watching television, a jingling of keys caught his attention. He turned around to look towards his open door and his heart jumped when he saw Mimi trying to get into her apartment. He was deciding whether he should go talk to her. He knew that he needed to get a little more daring if he was going to ever catch Mimi's eye, but why should he even try when her eyes were set on someone else? A _certain_ someone who was far more handsome and far more interesting than he was.

Koushiro sighed and quickly got up.

"Hey, Mimi," he called, putting his hands in his brown dress pant pockets. He also wore his white button down shirt. Mimi quickly turned around at the sound of her name and smiled sweetly at the red head.

"Hey Koushiro! You're home early," she stated, finally opening the door to her apartment and inviting Koushiro in.

"Yeah, I finished everything early so I came home," he explained, taking a seat at the dining table. Mimi put down her clutch and smiled, offering him some water and sitting down across from him at the dining table. He couldn't help but notice how gorgeous she looked with her hair flowing down softly and her dress clinging to her upper body.

"Wow, you must be a real asset to your company, huh?" she asked with a big smile. Koushiro tried not turn red but he couldn't help it.

"S-So, what did you do today?" he asked, finally noticing that she wasn't wearing her waitress uniform. He noticed how her cheeks turn a light pink and how she shifted in her seat.

"Well, I was in the area so I had lunch with Taichi," she explained with a lazy smile. Koushiro's stomach clenched.

"Oh," he stated quickly. Mimi started to run her fingers on the tablecloth, her other hand propped on the table holding her head. Koushiro noticed the blissful expression on his face and then he started to wonder if anything happened between the two of them. Koushiro forced himself to chuckle and drink the water Mimi had offered.

"You really have it bad for that doofus, don't you," he asked, lowering his eyes. Mimi looked at him quickly with panic.

"No! I was just in the area..."

Koushiro laughed and ran a few fingers through his hair.

"Sure, Mimi."

Mimi sighed and stood up, starting to walk around aimlessly.

"Okay, I'll tell you, Kou, because I trust you, but you can't tell anyone!" she made him promise. Koushiro smiled and nodded, feeling some happiness rush through him when she used the nickname that she made just for him.

"I'm crazy about him, okay? Like, I don't know what to do. You're his best friend, right? Do you think he'd ever be interested?" she asked hopefully, pulling one of the dining chairs closer to Koushiro's and sitting down.

For some reason he wanted to lie and say "there's no way Taichi would ever be interested in you", but Koushiro didn't have the heart to do that to her. Who in their right mind wouldn't want Mimi?

Koushiro would do anything to have her in his arms; to have her want him just as much as she wants dimwitted Taichi. God, Taichi was so damn lucky but he probably didn't even know.

"Mimi, even Taichi's not dumb enough to reject you," he explained softly, with a smile. Mimi pouted.

"Do you really think so?"

Koushiro got up and smiled putting a hand on Mimi's shoulder.

"He'd be crazy not to."

Mimi grinned and got up, wrapping her arms around Koushiro's neck. Koushiro could feel his face heat up and he didn't know what to do. Mimi pulled away and grinned.

"Thanks so much, Koushiro, you're the best!" she exclaimed. He smiled sheepishly.

"I think I'm going to take a nap for a bit, Mimi. I'll see you later," he stated while walking towards the door. Mimi smiled and said a quick "goodbye" before waltzing to her room.

Koushiro couldn't help but leave with a heavy heart.

* * *

Sora walked into the apartment building and sighed, raking a few fingers through her hair. It was a long day of work for her because of all the orders she needed to catch up on.

Almost as soon as she walked through the door, Mimi came squealing out of her room and towards Sora.

"Guess what, guess what!" she asked with glee. Sora laughed as she put her folders down on the dining table and started walking towards her room which she shared with Mimi. Sora sat down her bed and started to take off her earrings and other jewelry she usually wore to work.

"Oh, I don't know. I bet it has something to do with that big haired idiot that you're so in love with," she guessed with a smirk. Mimi grinned and lied down on her bed, looking at the ceiling.

"I went to lunch with him this afternoon and it was so much fun. Sora, I'm crazy about him. I don't know what to do."

Sora laughed and rolled her eyes, getting up and looking through her closet so she could change out of her blue cashmere sweater and black pencil skirt.

"Why don't you just _tell him_ like I've been telling you?"

"Because I don't want to get rejected!" Mimi stated with exasperation. Sora gave her a sympathetic look and changed into jeans and a shirt really quick.

"Taichi's not gonna be single forever, Mimi. Don't miss your chance," Sora reminded. Mimi groaned and stuffed her face in her pillow.

"I know, Sora. Oh, my god, this skank from his work was flirting with him and stuff before I came," Mimi vented. Sora turned and sat down on her bed again, lying down, as well.

"Damn, Taichi actually gets girls?"

Mimi laughed and looked at Sora's face.

"_Yeah_, and this girl is absolutely gorgeous. She was feeling him up and everything before I came to his office," Mimi elaborated. Sora scoffed and looked at her best friend.

"Someone more gorgeous than you? Yeah, okay, Mimi," Sora laughed. Mimi smiled and waved off her compliment.

"No, I'm serious Sora. This girl is straight up blonde and like a model," she stated. Sora wrinkled her nose.

"Taichi _would_ go for a girl like that."

"No, Sora, you don't understand, though. I had so much fun with him today. We just talked about everything. I was so comfortable around him and then when lunch was over..." Mimi paused to smile and bury her face in her pillow again. Sora got up and looked at Mimi anxiously.

"Wait, what happened?!"

"We had the most amazing..."

"...yeah?"

"We had the most amazing hug in the world," she explained with a blissful sigh. Sora raised a brow and then laughed.

"Wow, Mimi, you almost sound like Miyako."

Mimi pouted and scoffed.

"No, Sora, when he wrapped his arms around my waist and I was pressed up against his chest, it was just the most amazing feeling ever," she explained with a cute grin. Sora laughed and shook her head.

"Mimi, you really have it _bad_ for him, don't you?"

"I really do."

* * *

"How was work?"

"Stressful and annoying," Taichi answered. Koushiro winced and turned back to his laptop. Taichi got a can of beer and took a seat next to Koushiro on the couch, lying his head back on the top of the couch.

"Do you know when you're going to hear whether you got the promotion?"

"Nope, it's whenever the boss wants to tell me," he explained, shutting his eyes. Koushiro sighed and looked at his friend sympathetically.

"Don't stress yourself out too much, Taichi."

"Too late," he stated with a groan.

The two friends stayed silent for a while. Koushiro typed away on his laptop while Taichi held the cold beer to his head.

"Is Daisuke still not home?"

"Nope," Koushiro answered, glancing at his best friend again. He looked at how muscular and toned Taichi looked even under his suit. It made him envious and want to work out everyday just to get as fit.

"How long is his damn interview?"

"No idea.

There was a silence again and Koushiro knew that he needed to say something. Every time he got jealous of Taichi, he'd always make it really awkward between them.

"Koushiro...I think I have a problem," Taichi said, breaking the silence first. Koushiro looked at him with full attention, closing his laptop.

"What's wrong?"

Taichi sat up straight as well and opened his beer, taking a swig of it.

"I've been starting to notice something, lately," Taichi stated. Koushiro waited for him to go on.

"And...?"

"Okay, remember at Mimi's surprise birthday party when everyone was joking about the kiss?" he asked.

Koushiro's heart clenched. Why were Mimi and Taichi talking to _him_ about this stuff?

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, what if the kiss was _real_?" he asked turning fully towards Koushiro. The red head furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, Taichi, I'm pretty sure it was real. There were two people with two sets of lips. I don't see how it could be fake."

Taichi scoffed and shook his head.

"No. What I'm saying is...what if Mimi wasn't really faking it."

Koushiro kept quiet. Did Taichi actually figure it out? Taichi sighed and slouched a little, looking straight ahead of him into space.

"I think she might like me, Koushiro...and I don't know what to do," he confessed. Koushiro bit his lip and also looked at the air in front of him.

"Well, do you think you could ever like her back?" he asked hesitantly, not really wanting to know the answer. Taichi shrugged and thought about it thoughtfully.

"Well she is really cute. You know, if it were any other time, I might actually go for Mimi," he stated. Koushiro gave him a quizzical look.

"What's wrong with right now?"

Taichi grinned and folded his arms behind his head.

"Well, there's really hot girl at my work, Catherine. And lately, she's been showing some interest and, well, she's _hot_."

Koushiro rolled his eyes, wanting to smack Taichi upside the head. Why couldn't he just accept the amazing person in front of him right now? Why did he want some random girl from work?

"Well, aren't you not allowed to have your job and private life interfere?"

Taichi scoffed.

"Well, right now, I don't even have a private life. Work _is_ my life, therefore, it wouldn't really be interfering," he explained with another lopsided grin.

Koushiro smacked his head and sighed, but when he thought about it, why was he even trying to get Taichi to go for Mimi? This was his chance to get Taichi to go for the other girl so he could maybe try for Mimi.

"Well, that is true..."

"Exactly. I don't know Koushiro, I can't pick one...why can't I have both?!"

Koushiro chuckled. Typical Taichi. Always being the man-whore.

"The real question is, are you willing to ruin a friendship with Mimi by getting into a relationship with her?" Koushiro asked. Taichi bit his lip and thought about it for a second.

"I don't know...I don't think I'd ever want to take that chance."

"Then it's settled. Go for Catherine."

"But, at the same time, Mimi's such a better person than Catherine."

Koushiro sighed and shook his head again.

"Then why are you even considering Catherine?!"

"Did you not listen to me before?! She's hot and I'd get in bed with her in a second," Taichi answered, grinning widely again. Koushiro smiled at his best friend. Then, Koushiro thought of a really good question.

"Well, would you get into bed with Mimi in a second?" he asked, blushing a little bit. He didn't really feel comfortable talking about private stuff. Taichi thought about it again.

"She just seems too innocent...I'd feel like I was robbing her of something."

Koushiro sighed. This conversation was going nowhere.

"But, at the same time, if I ever did go out with Mimi, I would never try to sleep with her, you know? I'd respect her as much as I could."

Koushiro looked at Taichi with a surprised expression.

"Wow, Taichi, I don't think I've ever heard you say that about any girl," he stated with a smirk. Taichi laughed and shrugged.

"I really don't know, Koushiro."

"Well, okay, how about this. Would you rather be in a relationship or just screw around?"

Taichi rolled his eyes and scoffed as if the answer was obvious.

"Screw around, god, I'm only twenty-four. Why would I ever want to be in a long-term relationship?" he stated with another scoff, standing up and chugging some more of the beer. Koushiro laughed and watched him as he got up.

"Then I think it's pretty obvious who you should go for."

Taichi stopped in his tracks and thought about it once again. He really had no idea what to do.

"Okay this is way too much thinking. I'm going to bed."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: SORRRYY for the huge delay! My freshman year of college is over so now I can hopefully start up on this story again! Sorry the chapter's short too!! REVIEW!!

* * *

Miyako sighed, not really getting any sleep considering it was Friday morning. She only had twelve hours before Ken was going to pick her up for their second date. She started at the ceiling in her room and bit her lip. She really liked Ken and didn't want to scare him away, but, for some reason beyond her knowledge, she always scares every guy away.

She looked to her right and sighed when she noticed that Hikari was still sound asleep. Miyako got up and rubbed her eyes, grabbing her glasses off her nightstand after. She was the first of the four roomates to go to the bathroom. All four of them made a few rules so the morning went by smoothly: everyone was only allowed a ten minute shower at most, they had to put on their clothes and makeup in their rooms, as well as doing their hair. Whoever was the first to wake up and finish getting ready must brew the coffee.

Miyako was the first to get ready today so she went into the kitchen and started the coffee machine. She tried to make her hair look extra silky today so she wouldn't have to do much to it after work. She wanted to look as best as she could for Ken today.

"You look cute today," Sora stated, walking into the dining area with a yawn. Miyako chuckled nervously and ran some fingers through her smooth hair.

"I have to. I got to look as attractive as I possibly can," Miyako replied, taking her mug of coffee and sipping the warm drink inside. Sora yawned again and went through the swinging door to the kitchen to get some coffee. She came back out and sat at the dining table.

"Miyako, you're beautiful without being all made up. Come on, you'll be fine! Just don't do what you did with Haru," Sora explained. Miyako sighed and shook her head.

"I'm definitely going to do that again, I'm telling you."

"No, you won't! Just don't start talking about marriage and having kids. No matter _what_ you do, don't ever talk about your ex-boyfriends," Sora warned. Miyako nodded, biting her nails.

Hikari walked out of her room next, smiling sweetly.

"Good morning, you two," she greeted. She noticed Miyako's nervous demeanor and she furrowed her brow.

"You alright, Miyako?"

Miyako exasperatedly sat down at the dining table and shoved her face in her head.

"No! I'm a crazy obsessive!"

Hikari frowned and sat next to Miyako, across from Sora.

"No, you're not, Miyako! You're just very...enthusiastic," Hikari tried to soothed. Miyako looked up and glared.

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better, Hikari," she stated with a glare. Sora patted her shoulder and smiled.

"Look, Miyako. From what you've told me, Ken sounds different. Just be yourself, but don't...over-do it," she advised. Miyako rolled her eyes, getting up.

"You guys aren't helping!"

With that she left the apartment and headed to work. Mimi exited her room, putting her hair in another pony tail.

"What was that all about?"

Hikari sighed and got up to get some coffee.

"She's just really nervous about her date with Ken today," Sora explained. Mimi nodded her head with understanding and smiled.

"That girl is out of her mind," she stated with a laugh. Hikari sat down at the dining table again and chuckled.

"I really hope she does alright on her date tonight. Sometimes I wish we could go with her and help her out," Hikari stated. Mimi followed and sat across from Sora.

"No, I think she'll figure it out on her own. Or, maybe she'll find a guy that likes her for who she is, including all the craziness. Maybe Ken's that guy," Sora added. Mimi nodded with agreement.

The three girls sat in silence as they ate breakfast contently. A few minutes later, someone barged into their room and all their heads turned to see a smiling, but exhausted, Taichi.

"Good morning," he stated, yawning a little and walking over to the table, standing next to Mimi's seat. He smiled flirtaciously at her before turning his attention to everyone else.

"You look tired," Sora stated with slight worry, knowing that Taichi often over-worked himself. Hikari examined him as well and frowned.

"How long were you up last night?" she asked her older brother, rubbing his arm as she sat. Taichi shrugged and ran a few fingers through his hair. He was wearing a pastel blue button up shirt with dark grey dress pants.

"Four o'clock?"

Sora scowled and gave him a hard look.

"Can you please calm down with all your work? I don't want you to get sick or something," she explained. Taichi rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around Mimi's shoulders, causing her to blush.

"Will you calm down, Mom, I'm fine."

Sora glared and sighed.

"You're going to overwork yourself, Tai."

Taichi looked at her with stress for a split second and Sora understood that Taichi knew very well how hard he was working and how tired he was, but he was just hiding his stress from everyone so they wouldn't worry.

"Don't worry, Sor, I think my boss is going to tell us soon who'll get the promotion."

Hikari smiled with relief, but Sora knew Taichi well and knew he was lying. She let him get away with it and went back to eating. When there was a small silence, Taichi looked down to his left and grinned.

"You're looking nice today, Meems," he stated. Hikari looked at her brother with a raised brow and Sora smirked at the embarrassed look on Mimi's sweet face. Mimi was pretty sure he was lying because she was in her ugly uniform for work.

"No, I don't," she stated. Sora chuckled as she got up and went to put away her dishes. Taichi nudged the blushing girl and smirked.

"You always look nice, no matter what you're wearing," he explained. Mimi looked at him nervously and smiled timidly.

Hikari looked at the exchange between the two and made a face of disgust.

"Taichi, can you please not flirt in front of you're little sister? It's actually quite disturbing," she asked, also gathering her plates and heading towards the kitchen.

Taichi rolled his eyes as she disappeared and was left alone with the honey-haired girl.

"Alright, I have to get to work, but I'll talk to you later, Meems," he stated with a wink before leaving the room. Mimi sat there in awe for a few seconds by herself. What had just happened? Was Taichi actually _flirting_ with her?

"Mimi, you're face is redder than my hair."

Mimi turned to see Sora walk out from the swinging kitchen door and back to the table, fixing her casual brown dress with a black suit jacket over it. Mimi rolled her eyes, and rubbed her face a little, as if she were trying to rub the color off of it.

Hikari walked in next and raised her brows as she lifted her brown shoulder bag.

"What was that?" she asked Mimi. Mimi shrugged her shoulders, trying to play it cool in front of Hikari.

"I have no idea."

Hikari brushed it off and headed towards the door.

"Okay, you two, I'll see you soon," she stated, walking towards the door with her small bag. Sora grinned and bobbed her brows at Mimi.

"So, I'm sure that totally made your day."

Mimi got up nonchalantly and shrugged her shoulders.

"Eh, I guess," she tried to play cool. She head towards the door and turned before she left, her grin taking over her whole face.

"Yes!"

Sora laughed at her small outburst as she left the apartment.

* * *

Jyou let out a loud sigh and stirred his coffee slowly with his spoon. Iori looked at him with a raised eyebrow and sat down across from him at their table.

"You've been down since last night. What's wrong?" he asked the older man. Jyou looked up and pouted slightly. After a slight pause, he spoke.

"Do you think I'm stuck up?"

Iori raised his brows at the question and stuttered slightly.

"A-Absolutely not," he quickly stated, scratching his nose out of habit. Jyou glared slightly and went back to stirring his lukewarm coffee.

"I don't think I'm that stuck up...I'm just responsible," he explained even further, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself. Iori coughed and looked at the table, trying to hide his eyes so Jyou couldn't see that he was lying.

"Definitely."

There was an uncomfortable silence which was broken by the door being opened. Daisuke walked in and grinned at his two friends.

"Guess what, guys!"

Both Jyou and Iori smiled at the boy and waited for him to explain further.

"Not only did I get the car dealer job, the boss is in love with me!"

Jyou coughed and pushed his glasses up.

"Excuse me?"

"I went to the interview and blew their socks off. My boss, the dealership owner, loved my interview so much that he got me to start working yesterday," he explicated with a huge grin, sitting down at the table.

"Oh, so you went to the interview...so, you really want to be a car dealer?" Jyou asked skeptically, pushing up his glasses and sitting up straighter in his chair. Daisuke looked at the older man and leaned against the table.

"Obviously. I'm so excited, guys. I'm off to work again, I really do love this job," he explained giddily. Iori smiled, nodding approvingly to Daisuke.

"That's good, Daisuke, because in the end, you're happiness is all that matters when it comes to your job," he explained. Jyou rolled his eyes to himself and sighed, stirring his coffee again. Iori saw this and secretly kicked Jyou under the table.

"Yeah, exactly! Okay, I'm off. Just came to say hi but now I'm off to sell some cars," Daisuke stated with a grin before leaving the room.

Iori looked at Jyou with disapproval.

"Stop thinking all that."

Jyou looked at him with a raised brow and scrunched his brows.

"What?"

"Don't disapprove Daisuke, will you? He's finally happy to be doing something after weeks of sulking around. Just support his decision," he explained. Jyou sighed and rubbed his temples.

"I know I should support him, Iori, but something about having a dead-end job like that just makes me worry about Daisuke's well-being for the future," he preached. Iori rolled his eyes.

"Sometimes the present is more important than the future," he stated, thinking about Akina and how their relationship might not even have a feasible future. Jyou noticed his change in mood and smiled sympathetically.

"I really am stuck up, aren't I?" he asked his young best friend. Iori smiled and ran a few fingers through his thin hair.

"I think I'll just keep my mouth shut."

* * *

Takeru sighed as he stared at the blank page open on his laptop. Why was this article so impossible for him to write? He then looked at the clock and cursed to himself. He needed to have this article finished by tonight, but that didn't even seem possible because he had no idea where to _start_.

He lifted his hands and brought them to the keyboard, typing one word and then pausing. After a few seconds, he deleted the word and removed his hands from the laptop, giving up again with a sigh. Wow, he really had no idea where to start.

A knock at his door made him look up and peer through the skinny window on his door from his seat. He couldn't see anyone there so he got up and headed towards the door. As he opened it, he nearly fell back when Hikari wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed him in an embrace, kissing him on the cheek as she pulled away.

"Hikari?! What are you doing here?" he asked with a surprised grin. Hikari smiled sweetly, removing her arms from around his neck.

"Well, I called in sick for work today and decided to come surprise you. We haven't really seen each other all week," she stated with a slight frown. Takeru couldn't stop smiling and gave her a small peck on the lips.

"Aw, that's sweet. Wait, do the other girls know you called in sick?"

"Obviously not. I don't want them to ask questions and get suspicious," Hikari scoffed. Takeru laughed as he headed back to his chair and sat down while Hikari followed and stood up behind him.

"It's really sweet that you've decided to surprise me, Hikari, but this article is gonna keep me busy till tonight," he explained with a frown. Hikari chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind his chair.

"Well, can you at least spare a few minutes?" she asked with a quirky smirk, kissing his neck. Takeru would have been completely insane to not oblige so he sighed.

"Eh, I guess a few minutes won't do any harm."

He fully turned around in his chair and brought his face to hers, kissing her perfectly on the lips. Hikari chuckled and gladly returned the favor. She sat down on his lap and raked her fingers through his hair while deepening the kiss.

The couple made out for a few more minutes before Takeru's laptop obnoxiously interrupted them with a 'you've got mail' voice. Takeru ignored it but now Hikari had gotten out of the mood. She laughed and got up.

"Maybe you should just do work, Takeru. I didn't know you were going to be this busy, I feel guilty interrupting you."

Takeru pouted and pulled her back onto his lap.

"Don't leave," he pleaded. Hikari laughed and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Fine, but do your work. I don't want you to fall behind," she stated, turning his chair back so it faced his laptop. Takeru laughed and wrapped one arm around Hikari's waist as she sat on his lap and the other on his laptop.

Stretching his head to the side, Takeru tried to see the laptop screen and clicked on the internet tab to check his email. He waited as the page loaded and froze once he saw who sent the it. Hikari also looked and widened her eyes.

_I'm Coming Down to Odaiba --Yamato_


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Okay, not that long of a wait! This chapter was very spontaneous, and I wasn't expecting to write anything like this, but I had a lot of fun. Because it was a last minute decision to add this to the storyline, sorry if the chapter is choppy and kinda of poorly written =/ Enjoy! Review!

* * *

Mimi groaned walking into the apartment and looked around for everyone. She really hated working at the restaurant. She was cursed with having the worst people to serve today. She accidentally mixed up the orders and got yelled at by the customers and her boss one after the other.

She threw her purse onto the table and took a seat, shoving her face into her hands. What was she doing? She should be going to culinary school or something, not serving crabby people food. Ever since she left her parents' home, she knew she wanted to do big things with her life just to prove to her parents that she was capable of living by herself, but her father would laugh at the life she had right now. The thought of her father scorning her and mocking her lifestyle right now almost brought tears to her eyes.

Sora walked through the apartment door next and sighed.

"Why was today the longest day ever?"

Mimi didn't respond and lifted her head, staring at the table. Sora looked at her with concern and walked over to the small table, placing her folders and papers down.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing..."

Mimi still hadn't told anyone about what happened with her parents...she wasn't ready to, either. Sora put a hand on her shoulder and cocked her head.

"Hard day at work?"

Mimi groaned and nodded her head profusely.

"I _really_ hate working there, Sora, it's the worst job ever," she stated with an angry frown. Sora looked at her sympathetically and sighed.

"Everyone's gotta start somewhere, Meems. If it makes you feel better, I don't think I've ever worked so hard in my life as of today. Since I missed a whole day of work this week, my boss was kind of pissed and piled a crap-load of orders and paperwork on me," she explained with a grunt. Mimi shook her head groaned, hitting her fists on the table and standing up. Then an idea came to her.

"Hey, let's do something tonight! It's a friday night, right? Let's go out to a bar and let loose a little!" she exclaimed. Sora looked at her wide-eyed and laughed sarcastically.

"Yeah, okay, Mimi. After my fiasco this week, I definitely want to go back to a bar," she stated while rolling her eyes. Mimi pouted and jumped up for a second.

"Please, Sora! Please, please, please," she begged. Sora sighed and shook her head.

"I'm Sorry, Meems. I don't mind just hanging around here tonight, but I don't know if I'm up for going out," she explained. Mimi bit her lip. She didn't want to pressure Sora, especially after what happened this week. Sora told her the whole story two nights ago, and Mimi knew she was scared to go out again.

"Alright..."

Sora saw the way Mimi's face fell and how depressed she got. Sora thought for a second and groaned.

"I really hate you and you're pouty face sometimes. Alright, I'm in," Sora stated with a small smile. Mimi grinned and squealed, jumping over to Sora and hugging her tightly, "But only on one condition! I want everyone to go out too."

Mimi grinned even wider at the proposition and tried to calm her excitement.

"Of course! I'm gonna call everyone right now!"

* * *

Takeru didn't know what to do. He sighed as he walked to the bus station. Should he tell everyone that his brother was coming even though Yamato said not to?

_"Do me a favor and don't tell anyone I'm coming. I know I'm not going to be welcome either way, but at least if its a surprise, I'll everyone's true and honest reactions and feelings towards me...The only way I can fix everything is knowing how everyone feels about me without any barriers put up."_

How could he keep a secret this big quiet for so long! He was coming in five days. _Five_ days! And Takeru was pretty sure Yamato knew how everyone felt about him. Two of them were fostering a relentless grudge and hatred toward the guy!

_"You're the only one who wants me in your life right now. The rest of them either don't bother to keep in touch because of what I've done to Sora and Taichi or they also feel a resentment towards me..."_

Well, duh, Yamato! Did that realization just come to him now? Takeru wanted to call him badly, but Yamato was really shady and always called from a random number so Takeru never knew how to keep in contact with him other than through email. This was ridiculous.

Hikari had left four hours ago and was probably on her way back to the apartment since none of the girls knew she had taken a day off to see Takeru. She told Takeru to respect Yamato's decision and not tell anyone...considering that Hikari was Taichi's little sister, she must be right and not thinking selfishly.

His cell phone started ringing and he sighed when he saw Hikari's caller ID. He quickly picked up as he reached the bus stop, trying to drown out the honking and city noise.

"Hello?"

"Hey, are you on your way back home?" her sweet voice asked through the phone. It made Takeru smile.

"Yeah, I am. Why, what's up?"

"Well, Mimi really wants everyone to go out tonight, are you up for it?"

Takeru furrowed his brows and scoffed as the bus pulled up and he started getting on.

"Absolutely not."

"Why?" Hikari asked incredulously.

"Because no one knows we're together so we won't be able to dance and stuff."

"So? That's alright, we just won't 'dance and _stuff_' then." He could imagine her bobbing her brows on the other side of the phone.

"Then guys are gonna hit on you and I won't be able to do anything about it without looking suspicious," he said with a slight glare as he sat down. Hikari laughed on the other side.

"Who cares, Takeru. I'll walk away. Come on, lets all just go and have fun! We haven't gone out with the whole gang for a while," she stated. Takeru sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'll go. So, everyone's up for going out tonight?"

"Yeah, the only people that we haven't asked yet are Jyou, Iori, and Taichi. They aren't picking up their phones and aren't home yet."

Takeru sighed. It _was_ Friday night, and going out to let out some steam didn't seem like a bad idea.

"All right, then. I'll see you in a bit."

* * *

Iori didn't even have time to walk to his apartment because had Mimi attacked him the hallway.

"You're coming out tonight, Iori, I don't care what you say," she stated, blocking his way to his apartment. Iori smiled and sighed.

"Mimi, I'd love to, but I have a lot of studying to do. I have an exam on Monday that I can't mess up on. I'm really sorry."

This excuse wasn't good enough for Mimi and she glared.

"You have all weekend! Come on, Iori! It'll be fun, we all haven't gone out together in a long time!"

Iori looked at Mimi's pleading face and couldn't say no. Why could _no one_ ever say no to her baby face? He let out a long breath and offered a slanted smile.

"Alright, Mimi. I'll come."

Mimi whooped and crushed him in a hug.

"Yes! You won't regret it, Iori!" she exclaimed before running back into her apartment. Iori chuckled as he took out is keys and walked to his apartment door. There was a bigger reason other than his exams for not wanting to go. He wasn't in the mood to hang out with other girls just yet. He knew that it didn't work out with Akina, but he wasn't sure their affair was over yet.

He sighed and opened the door, walking into the apartment. He was surprised to see Jyou in the apartment, passed out on the couch. He quietly walked to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. What should he do at the bar today? Flirt? Dance? Bring girls home?

He definitely couldn't bring anyone back home with him, he wasn't ready for that, yet. Were he and Akina even over? Should he call her right now?

Iori got frustrated and sat down. Why was his life revolving around one woman who couldn't dedicate herself to him one hundred percent? Iori's attention turned to Jyou when he started stirring. Jyou's eyes fluttered open and he groaned as he rubbed his eyes under his glasses.

"You came back early today," Iori stated with a smile. Jyou smiled and tried to get the sleep out of his system.

"Yeah, one of the doctors noticed how exhausted I was and let me take the rest of the day off because he didn't want me to work in that condition," Jyou explained with a yawn. Iori nodded understandingly.

"Well, did you hear about tonight?" he asked. Jyou furrowed his brow. Iori sighed and explained.

"Mimi wants to go out to a bar tonight with everyone, and don't even bother trying to get out of it. She'll either pressure you to say yes, or make you feel really bad by making that puppy face she has and you'll end up saying yes," Iori stated. Jyou sighed.

"But I really need to rest up for tomorrow...because I got the rest of the day off today, they're making me go into work tomorrow," Jyou whined. Iori shook his head.

"Nope, won't work. She'll literally drag you to the bar on a leash if she has to," he stated with a smirk. Jyou sighed. Then an idea came to his head. What if he asked Daisuke to tell Jun to come...

"You know what, maybe it wont be such a bad idea to go out," he said quickly. Iori raised his brow and sat down on the couch next to Jyou.

"That was a quick change of heart."

Jyou thought of Jun's spunkiness and how seeing him at the bar might change her mind about him. It might also be good for him to go out and have fun...he hasn't done that in a long time...not since undergraduate school.

"I don't know, Iori, it might be fun," he said while getting up and walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Iori asked with a raised brow.

"I need to ask Daisuke something, I'll be right back."

* * *

"Thank god I have friends like you!" Miyako stated with a grin and Hikari laughed as they sat in Mimi and Sora's room, watching Mimi curl her hair, "No, I'm serious. Now I don't have to go on my date with Ken alone and you guys can all make sure I don't creep him out at the bar!"

"That, we can do," Sora stated as she helped Mimi. Sora sighed at how much hair Mimi still had left to curl.

"Mimi, why are you getting so dressed up? It's just a bar," Hikari asked.

Mimi blushed and stuttered, "Uh, I just wanna go all out. You never know who you'll meet...and I-I like getting dolled up!"

Miyako scoffed.

"I'm the one thats gonna be on a date! Someone curl my hair!" she exclaimed. Hikari laughed again at her jitteriness and told Miyako that she'd do it. The two younger girls walked into their room and started getting ready, as well.

Mimi sighed.

"What do you think Hikari would say if she found out I liked her brother," Mimi asked Sora quietly. Sora laughed and rolled her eyes as she handed Mimi another bunch of cinnamon hair to curl.

"Mimi, first of all it's more like you're 'obsessed' with her brother and second of all, I think she'd be really excited. We all would be, because maybe Taichi would actually settle down with you instead of whoring around like he usually does," she stated. Mimi grinned.

"You think he'd be in a relationship with me?"

"No, I'm saying that at least you're a good girl and if anything were to happen, he wouldn't just dump you aside like he does with other girls," she stated. When she saw Mimi about to squeal in excitement, Sora added, "_If_ anything were to happen, Meems. _If_."

Mimi pouted and finished curling her last bunch of hair.

"Well, you never know what might happen," she stated, running some fingers through her curled hair to make it look loose and messy, "does it look like I'm trying too hard to get his attention right now?"

"Kind of, but you look good!" Sora stated with a smile. She was looking through her clothes in the closet they shared. One side was Mimi's and one was Sora's. She picked out a pair of skinny jeans and a red silky halter top.

"How does this look, Mimi?"

Mimi turned around and made a face at the outfit.

"Come on, Sora, if I'm going all out, You're going all out! Here, wear this," Mimi went to her side of the closet and pulled out a strapless teal dress. Sora raised her brow and shook her head.

"No way, I'm trying not to get noticed. We're not going to a club, Meems, we're going to a bar," she stated. Mimi rolled her eyes and exaggerated her hand motions.

"Sora, we're going _all out_, and when I mean 'all out', I mean 'go put on that dress and rape a bunch of guys tonight'," she ordered. Sora laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, alright calm down..."

A couple hours later, there was a knock on the door and all that could be heard was Miyako squealing and pushing Hikari out of the room to open the door. Hikari glared at her as she fixed her light jeans and light pink dressy top. She walked briskly to the door and opened it to a very sharp looking Ken. He was wearing dress pants paired with a gray sweater; the sleeves rolled up.

"Hey, Ken! Come in," Hikari offered with a smile. He returned it.

"Thanks, you look nice, by the way," he stated. Hikari thanked him and told him to sit on the couch. Miyako came out of their room, looking nervous and shy, wearing a black A-line skirt that went above her waist with a lavender tank top which complemented her hair. Ken got up and smiled.

"You look beautiful," he stated, putting his hands in his pant pockets. Miyako grinned and walked up to him, hugging him tightly. Ken chuckled and hugged back and they both sat down on the couch, talking.

Hikari smiled and walked into Sora and Mimi's room. She grinned when she saw them.

"Wow, you guys look amazing!"

Sora was wearing the teal strapless dress with her hair pin straight, her smokey eyeshadow looked tantalizing. Mimi wore a black dress with short sleeves that clung to all her curves. Her hair was curled messily and put in a messy, low bun with strands coming out.

They both grinned and thanked the younger girl.

Sora's cell phone beeped and she looked at the caller. She rolled her eyes and picked it up.

"Why are you calling me when you live right across the hall?"

"Because I'm too lazy to come all the way down there," Taichi stated on the other end. Sora laughed.

"Hey, Sor, I'm not really up for going out tonight. I'm tired and I have a lot of shit to do so I could use all the time I can get," he explained. Sora could hear the exhaustion in his voice but if everyone was going out, then he should too.

"Well, then you're just going to have to explain to Mimi because she really wants everyone there," Sora stated with a smirk. Mimi looked at Sora with a confused expression.

"Here, talk to her," Sora said with a mischievous grin. Mimi took the phone when Sora offered it to her and spoke. Her eyes widened when she heard the voice on the other end.

"O-Oh, hi Taichi..." she said quietly. Hikari looked at her with a curious look but shrugged her shoulders and went to the mirror to fix her make-up.

"Yeah, I would really love it if you came...please?"

Sora snickered as she ran some fingers through her hair. Mimi was blushing like a tomato.

"Oh...alright...I understand. Okay, bye," she ended the call and pouted, "He's not coming. He really doesn't want to."

"Oh, you couldn't force him like you forced Iori and Koushiro?" Sora asked with a grinning smirk. Mimi glared as Hikari sighed.

"I feel so bad for him, he's always stressing out about this promotion," Hikari stated with concern, sitting on the bed. Sora nodded and looked at Mimi.

"Wanna go over to their place and convince him in person?" she asked with a smile. Mimi shook her head profusely. She was way too shy to see him when she was so dressed up. Sora laughed and sighed.

"I'll go over there and convince him then, I'll be back in a bit guys."

Sora left the room and smiled when she saw Miyako and Ken hitting it off, deep into a conversation. They smiled and said 'hi' before Sora left the apartment. She walked across the hall and knocked on the door before turning the knob.

Taichi was already on the couch, watching TV. She figured that Koushiro and Daisuke were getting ready in their room. She walked over and stood in front of the TV, arms crossed. Taichi looked up and grinned.

"Hey, Sor."

"Come on, get up and get ready, you're coming," she ordered, shutting off the television and smiling at him. Taichi made a disgusted face and Sora lifted her brow.

"What?"

"Nothing, you just look hot. And its grossing me out because I _think_ I just checked you out," he stated, sticking out his tongue in disgust and looking away. Sora laughed and went over to him, pulling his hair slightly. Typical man-whore Taichi.

"Come on, Taichi, we all want you there, and Mimi really wants everyone to be there today," she explained. Taichi sat straighter and lifted his brows.

"Oh, really, Mimi really wants me there?" he asked with a grin and a knowing wink. Sora rolled her eyes.

"I didn't say _that_, but if that will get you to come, then yes, Mimi really wants you to come," Sora explained truthfully with a knowing smile. Taichi knew what Sora was emphasizing and nonchalantly brought his arms behind his head.

"Well, I mean, if it's for _Mimi_, then I guess I'll come," he stated with a grin. Sora laughed and hit him in the stomach, forcing him to stand and go to his room.

* * *

After another half hour, everyone met up in the girls' apartment. Taichi was the last one to walk in and Mimi was purposely waiting for him. Her stomach clenched when she saw him wearing dark blue jeans and a black button up shirt with the cuffs unbuttoned and a white wife-beater barely showing under the shirt. He looked very smoldering and sexy. She was even happier to notice that they matched, both wearing black.

Sora made sure everyone was present and then they all exited the apartment and walked down the stairs. Everyone was talking amongst themselves: Jyou and Daisuke were chatting about Jun, but Daisuke was constantly asking why Jyou wanted his sister come to the bar. They both wore blue dress shirts, but Jyou wore dress pants while Daisuke wore jeans. Sora was walking with Mimi, who was very excited for the bar. Hikari and Takeru walked next to each other but being very cautious while Miyako and Ken were linked arms, walking in the back of the group and chatting happily. Iori, Taichi, and Koushiro were in the front of the group, leading the way to the bar.

The bar they wanted to go to wasn't that far so there was no use paying for four cabs or stuffing everyone in the car. It was definitely walking distance. Once everyone got in the bar, they all went their separate ways. The music was very lively and the beat was super catchy.

Iori, Koushiro, Takeru and Jyou went straight to sit down at the bar while Taichi and Daisuke were looking at the dance floor like perverts, scouting out girls to dance with. Takeru kept his eye on Hikari, he didn't feel comfortable having to split up with her, but Hikari insisted that they weren't attached at the hip all night.

Ken and Miyako sat a little farther away, trying to have a legitimate date so no one disturbed them. The rest of the girls all decided to buy shots because Mimi kept insisting. Sora noticed the way Mimi kept glancing at Taichi to see what he was doing and knew why Mimi wanted to take shots. Sora took a mental note to keep an eye on her best friend to make sure she didn't do anything too crazy.

Everyone was having fun just chilling or dancing. Daisuke had found some very hot blond that he was dancing intensely with. Taichi and Takeru would whoop and cheer him on as he dance, only exciting Daisuke more and making him dance even crazier.

Soon, Jun walked into the bar wearing big gold hoop earrings with a knee-length brown skirt and orange halter top. Jyou instantly noticed because he was waiting for her to come this whole time. He couldn't ignore the butterflies flapping around in his stomach. She was walking around greeting many people; Jyou had no idea that she was a social butterfly. As she made her way over to the area Jyou was in, he tried to look like he was busy, listening in on Iori and Takeru's conversation.

"Jyou?"

Jyou tried to nonchalantly look over and smiled.

"Oh, hey Jun! Wasn't expecting to see you here," he smiled, getting up to be leveled with her. Jun furrowed her brows and smirked.

"Weren't you the one that told Daisuke to invite me here?" she asked. Jyou blushed slightly and tried to quickly think of something to say.

"Y-Yeah, I just didn't figure you'd come," he stated nervously, fixing his glasses. Jun giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Nice save, doctor," she stated with a laugh. Jyou chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"So, do you want something to drink?"

"Sure, thank you," she stated, flirtatiously taking a seat next to Jyou.

Takeru was keeping a constant watch on Hikari as she danced with Sora and Mimi on the dance floor. So far, no guy had done anything to piss him off yet, but he was just waiting because he knew it would happen sooner or later.

"Do you see a girl you like?"

Takeru snapped out of his trance and payed attention to Iori again.

"Oh, um, yeah."

"Which one is it?" Iori asked with a smile. Takeru cursed to himself.

"Um, that one," he pointed to a random girl who was dancing near Hikari. Iori looked at the girl with short dirty blonde hair and nodded in approval.

"Go dance with her."

Takeru bit his lip. How was he going to explain that he didn't want to?

"Uh, nah, I'm not in the mood to dance."

Iori raised his brow and shrugged his shoulders.

Taichi was now sitting by Koushiro, talking as well. Koushiro was getting a little upset because every girl that walked by looked at Taichi and smiled. Not one girl, yet, had come over to smile at Koushiro.

"I really can't even have fun, Kou, I keep thinking about work," Taichi stated, running his fingers through his hair. Koushiro was sure that at least three girls stared at him as he did so.

"Try not to think about it...buy a drink," he stated. Taichi sighed heavily and nodded.

"Amen to that," Taichi stated, buying three shots. He took all three one after another, and Koushiro watched him cautiously.

"Be careful, Taichi..." Everyone know how Taichi got when he was stressed and drank. The gang pretty much considered him a very slight alcoholic.

"Don't worry about me, I'm just trying to let loose a little," Taichi grinned.

Mimi at this point had four shots and was feeling a little tipsy. She grabbed both Hikari and Sora's hands.

"Lets go get one more shot, girls!"

"Uh, Meems, I think you're okay," Hikari stated. Mimi pouted and shook her head.

"My limit is six, okay? I've only had four!"

"There is no way your limit is six!" Sora stated, who was feeling a little buzzed as well from three shots, "Why don't you have a mixed drink instead?"

"No, come on!" she dragged them back to the bar, and she purposely brought them to where Taichi and Koushiro were. Sora gave a hesitant look to Koushiro, not knowing if a drunk Mimi around Taichi was a good idea.

Mimi bought two more shots and drank them straight, one after another. She made a disgusted face for a second and then shook out of it. She took the seat next to Taichi and smiled, giving Sora a knowing look. Sora sighed and took Koushiro and Hikari away while Hikari gave her brother and Mimi a strange look.

"So, did you notice that we're matching?" Mimi asked him flirtatiously, bringing her hand to his arm. Taichi laughed, feeling the few shots that he took, as well.

"Of course I noticed. How would you feel if I told you that I did it on purpose?" He asked, knowing that he should be careful. He liked flirting and teasing Mimi because he knew that she had feelings, but he didn't know if he should do anything.

"I'd be pretty excited," Mimi stated softly, leaning her body in closer. Mimi knew exactly how she got when she drank. She was more daring and more confident, and deep down, she knew she was drinking a lot on purpose to make a move on Taichi.

"Want more to drink?" he asked her, and she nodded encouragingly. Taichi got himself something really strong and got Mimi something very low in alcohol because he knew she had a lot already. After drinking that, Mimi laughed and held her forehead.

"I was drunk exactly a week ago, too. I'm so lame," she stated with a giggle. Taichi chuckled and took her hands.

"I don't think you're lame at all."

She blushed at this and grinned.

"So, what do you think of me then?"

Taichi smirked and bobbed his brows.

"Well, I think you're sweet, beautiful, innocent-"

"I am not innocent!" she exclaimed with a grin, letting her hands roam his arms. Taichi laughed and raised a brow.

"Oh, really?"

"Really. I can be un-innocent too, you know?" she stated shakily. She was really starting to feel the alcohol. Taichi shook his head with a smile, not looking away from her eyes.

"I don't believe you," he stated softly. Mimi brought her face close to his and smiled.

"Then let me show you."

With that she brought her lips crushingly to his which Taichi hesitantly welcomed. There was no harm in trying it, right? Taichi brought his hand to her cheek as he opened his mouth a little more to it deeper which made Mimi sigh in content. However, something quickly made Taichi stop and he pulled away.

"Mimi, wait, I can't do this," he stated, holding her shoulders. Mimi looked at him with puppy eyes.

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend, and I can't do this to you," he explained, moving some curly hair out of her face. Mimi grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Well, we can't have fun just as friends?"

Taichi chuckled and looked at her pretty face.

"I don't know, its a little risky..." He knew how she really felt but he was letting his hormones get the better of him.

"Don't worry. I just want to kiss you, I don't care if we're doing it as friends and nothing else," she stated with a slight slur. Taichi bit his lip.

"Meems, I don't kn-"

"Shh. Trust me, I'll be fine. Just kiss me," she ordered, leaning forward and bringing her lips to him again. Taichi kissed her back slowly, not sure if he was doing the right thing, but feeling the alcohol starting to affect him, as well, he put the caution signs in his head to the back of his mind and tried enjoy this.

Hikari and Koushiro watched in amazement while Sora grinned, cheering happily. Ken and Miyako made their way over to the trio and Miyako squealed when she saw Mimi making out with Taichi.

"I knew she liked him! Aw, they're really cute!" Miyako stated, rejoicing with Sora. Hikari's mouth was just wide open and Takeru walked over to her to lift up her chin with a laugh. Koushiro's heart dropped watching them. He actually had to turn his head away, he didn't want to look, especially when everyone was excited and cheering them on.

While Mimi and Taichi were having their 'moment' with everyone cheering and watching, Iori sat by himself. Jyou and Jun were dancing and Iori smiled at the awkward gap between the two. When Jun took a hold on Jyou's hips and brought them closer to her, Iori had to hold in his laughter at the redness of Jyou's face.

"Is this seat taken?"

Iori looked up and saw a sweet looking brunette standing in front of him, wearing shorts and a yellow floral top.

"Uh, no," he stated quietly, motioning for her to sit down. She sat down timidly and looked at Iori.

"We both seemed a little shy, awkward, and out of place so I thought I'd introduce myself...My name is Noriko Kinoshita," she explained with a small smile, offering her hand. Iori shook it and smiled.

"My name's Iori," he stated.

There was a silence and neither knew what to do. Noriko finally gained the courage and turned to look at him.

"So, do you want to dance?" she asked as loudly as she could. Iori looked at her and didn't know what to do. He couldn't stop thinking about Akina. Even though Noriko was very sweet and was definitely his type, he couldn't do it. He couldn't dance with another girl.

"I'm sorry, Noriko...I'm already involved with someone," he said bluntly. Norika winced slightly and faked a smile.

"No problem...um, may I ask where she is?"

Iori bit his lip and hesitated, "She couldn't make it..."

Noriko could tell he was lying.

"Well, can I tell you something?" she asked. Iori nodded, "If she didn't care enough to be here with you, then you shouldn't care either."

Iori didn't answer and clenched his jaw. He knew it was true. Noriko sighed and took out a slip of paper and a pen.

"Here's my number if you're ever in need of someone to talk to...or if you ever wanna meet up and get coffee," she stated with a smile, handing him the paper, and walking away. Iori sighed, looking down at the paper. Instead of throwing it away like he thought he was going to, he folded it up and put it in his pocket.

* * *

At this point, Mimi had made her way onto Taichi's lap, both still making out passionately. Mimi's hair was coming slightly undone from Taichi's fingers raking through them.

Everyone let them be and didn't disturb them. They all started doing their own things. Hikari and Sora danced together, laughing happily until a hand tapped Sora's shoulder. She turned around and her cheery mood fell.

"I was not expecting you to be here again!" Willis explained with a laugh. Sora stopped dancing, just staring at the blond-haired man and not knowing what to do. Hikari got concerned and latched onto Sora's arm. The only people that knew what happened were Taichi and Mimi, and both were too busy hooking up at the bar to notice the situation Sora was in right now.

"Yeah...I'm h-here with all my friends," she said over the music. Hikari could feel the friction between the two and butt in.

"I'm Hikari, her roommate and best friend," she yelled over the music. Willis smiled and shook her hand.

From afar, Takeru thought that Willis was hitting on Hikari and instinctively made his way towards them. He pulled Willis slightly and both blonds looked at each other weirdly. Hikari knew what Takeru thought and took his hand, shaking her head.

Sora took this chance to walk away in the opposite direction, away from Willis. She couldn't see him, she felt disgusted with herself. She didn't want to interrupt Taichi and Mimi so she went to Koushiro, who was sitting by himself at the bar, circling the top of his cup.

He noticed Sora's distraught face and quickly changed his attention.

"Are you all right?"

Sora shook her head, feeling tears brim her lashes. Koushiro quickly made her face him and she buried her face in her hands. She was also feeling a little buzzed so it was making her a little more emotional.

"Why is he here, Koushiro?"

"Who?" he asked. Sora sniffled and looked at the floor.

"This guy who I slept with when I was drunk that day I left," she explained. Koushiro knew why it was upsetting her. Everyone knew that Sora had lost her virginity to Yamato, and since she hadn't really had sex with anyone else.

"Hey, do you want me to take you back to the apartment?"

Sora nodded her head and ran a few fingers through her hair.

"Sora! Wait!"

Both Koushiro and Sora looked to the side to see Willis making his way to her. Sora bit her lip and turned away.

"Hey, Sora, can I talk to you for a second? Please?" he asked. Willis looked at Koushiro pleadingly. Koushiro could tell the man meant no harm, and maybe talking to him might make Sora feel a little better.

"Sora, I think you should hear him out. I'll be a few seats down, don't worry," Koushiro explained. Sora didn't say anything as Koushiro left and Willis took his seat.

"I know I might not be your favorite person right now, but don't be scared or upset. I never wanted to make you feel that way," he explicated. Sora still didn't look at him, suddenly feeling very insecure in her small dress.

"I mean it, Sora. There was something about you, that night, something that drew me to you...I didn't just want to have sex with you," he defended. Sora shook her head, turning to look at the blond haired man with a glare.

"Really? I was so drunk that I don't even remember anything. Thats perfect for any guy who wants to have sex with a girl," she spat. Willis sighed.

"You were really into it too, Sora. I thought that maybe you were into me, too. But I woke up the next morning and you were gone," he stated. Sora stood up, not wanting to be near him but he held her hand.

"Please...just dance with me?" he asked. Sora ripped her hand away.

"How dare you even _ask_ me-"

"Please? Look, I'm going back to America in two weeks so I'll be out of your hair by then...just grace me with one last dance," he asked. Sora looked at the blonde and for some reason couldn't say no. He didn't seem harmful. Maybe it was the alcohol affecting her. All she knew is that she did suddenly want to dance with Willis.

Sora and Willis weren't the only ones about to start dancing. Mimi pulled away from her intense make-out session with Taichi, trying to focus on his face. She really had no idea what she was doing, she was so drunk.

"Do you wanna dance?" she whispered in his ear. Taichi, at this point, let his hormones get the better of him. He replied by standing up and leading her there. Mimi wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him very close, brushing her lips against his again. Taichi let out a shaky breath, wanting her lips again. Both leaned in and let their tongues dance as they kissed. Taichi's hands roamed her body, bringing them down to her hips and moving them closer to his.

Koushiro found Iori and sat down next to him, sighing.

"I don't know about you, but I'm about ready to go back home."

Iori nodded, "Yeah, I don't really feel like being here right now."

Koushiro noticed that everyone was dancing on the dance floor. Ken and Miyako, Sora and Willis, Jyou and Jun, Daisuke and that random hot blonde, and Taichi and Mimi-who were probably going at it the most. They might as well have just taken their clothes off and had sex right there. Koushiro couldn't stand looking at them. Takeru and Hikari weren't anywhere to be seen, but Koushiro didn't care. All he could look at was Mimi sneaking her hands under Taichi's shirt. What was he doing? Just yesterday he was wondering if he should be with Mimi at all. Koushiro doubted that Taichi changed his mind in just half a day.

"Hey, are you guys about to head back?" Miyako had come in front of Koushiro and Iori, she was holding Ken's hand behind her. Koushiro still didn't really pay attention, still staring at Mimi and Taichi. Miyako noticed this and followed his eyes, raising an eyebrow when she noticed he was looking at Mimi and Taichi.

"Hello? Koushiro?" Koushiro's head snapped up and he stuttered.

"Uh...what? Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"Yeah, Miyako, we wanna start heading back," Iori stated for Koushiro. Miyako smiled at Koushiro, understanding why he was so out of it.

"Okay, then let's go!" she exclaimed, leading the way. She turned and whispered something in Koushiro's ear quickly though: "I'll talk to you later about Mimi."

Koushiro blushed and kept his mouth shut as the four of them left the bar.

* * *

Sora was tired of dancing with Willis and thought it was about time to go home.

"Um...hey, I got to go," she stated awkwardly. Willis held onto her waist.

"Can I at least have your number?" he asked with a smile. Sora hesitated and shook her head.

"I'm sorry..."

Willis sighed and shook his head, understanding.

"I hope I get to see you again," he stated, kissing her cheek. Sora bit her lip. She hoped she _never_ saw him again. With that she left and went to find everyone else. She decided to save Taichi and Mimi for last, just so their 'thing' could go on a little longer. She found Takeru and Hikari first, sitting at some random spot talking. Then she found Jyou and Jun who were dancing next to Daisuke and his blonde. Sora nearly barfed when she saw the way Daisuke and the blonde were making out, it was almost as crazy as Taichi and Mimi. Finally, she got Taichi and Mimi, who were a little hard to break apart, but everyone finally got them to.

When they all walked out, Sora held onto Mimi's hand while Daisuke walked with Taichi. Sora would rather them calm their hormones down for a bit and walk separately.

"Tai, man, that blond was banging. She gave me her number, oh my god. She has the best ass ever, and _damn_ does she know how to grind! I was trying to hide my-"

"I get it Daisuke, please don't finish that sentence," Taichi stated with a laugh. Daisuke sighed and closed his eyes as he walked.

"I have a job I finally like and I just danced _and_ made out with the hottest girl ever. I think my life is finally going right," he stated with a grin, "So, did you get any hot chicks?"

Taichi chuckled and looked ahead where Mimi and Sora were walking, not answering his question.

Hikari and Takeru were walking all the way in the back of the group with some distance between them. Hikari smiled grabbing a hold of Takeru's hand. Takeru looked at her in shock and pulled his hand away.

"What are you doing! Any of them can turn around and see us," he stated. Hikari laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

"No one will see. Come on, we didn't do anything together today, and we're _actually_ dating. Let's at least hold hands for a bit," she stated with a smile. Takeru rolled his eyes and took hold of her hand, swinging it slightly.

Jyou and Jun were chatting happily as well, walking back to the apartment.

"Who knew doctors could party so hard," she stated with a wink. Jyou chuckled and blushed.

"Guess I'm not that boring after all," he said with a small smile. Jun rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Don't get ahead of yourself yet, doctor. We'll just have to see about that," she said softly with a grin. Jyou looked at her with a raised brow and smiled.

"So, are you going to stay at our apartment or head back to yours?"

"I think I'll just get a cab back to my apartment," Jun said with a smirk, "I'm not one to stay over a guy's apartment on the first date."

Jyou coughed a little in shock and looked at her with an incredulous look.

When they all walked into the apartment building, Jun caught a cab as they all went up the stairs and went to their respective rooms. Mimi was complaining to Sora saying she didn't want to sleep in their room, but Sora made her anyway.

When Hikari, Sora, and Mimi walked into their apartment, they saw Ken and Miyako sitting on the couch talking. They both turned and smiled at the girls.

"Have fun, you guys?" Miyako asked. Mimi responded with a drunken 'yes!' while Sora and Hikari gave an 'ehh' response. Hikari went into her room while Sora and Mimi went into theirs.

When they closed the doors, Ken turned and looked at Miyako.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," he stated. Miyako blushed and smiled.

"Me too..."

They both stared at each other for a few seconds before leaning in and kissing softly. It was their first kiss, and it was tender and sweet. Ken pulled away and smiled while Miyako blushed intensely, looking at the couch. Ken laughed and brought her face to look at his again, and kissed her one more time.

After that, he got up and told Miyako he had to go. Miyako pouted and brought him to the door.

"So, I guess this means I'll see you soon?" Miyako asked anxiously. Ken chuckled and smiled.

"Of course, I'll call you, okay?" he stated. Miyako grinned and nodded, opening the door and watching him leave.

"Why wouldn't you let me sleep in his room?" Mimi asked Sora angrily, sloppily changing out of her clothes because she was so intoxicated. Sora sighed and looked at her with a stern look.

"Cause after tonight, I don't think you need to sleep in his room. You two probably would have done something really stupid," she explained.

"What? Like have sex?" Mimi asked. Sora looked at her incredulously and nodded.

"Yes, Mimi. That's a big step, I'm not about to let you do that tonight," she said with a hard look. Sora should know, she took sex very seriously. That's why what she did with Willis really made her upset. Mimi put on her small pajamas and glared at her best friend.

"But I wanted to!" she exclaimed. Sora was tired and cranky after tonight. She didn't care anymore.

"Fine, Mimi, If you want to that bad, then go."

Mimi stubbornly got up and headed towards the door,

"I will," she stated forcefully as she stumbled out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

Sora sat on her bed, trying to hold in her anger and tears. She hated drinking sometimes, it made her too emotional.

She laid back in bed and closed her eyes. What a long and interesting night.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: The wait wasn't that long this time! Hope you enjoy, don't forget to review! Hope this explains some more stufff :)

* * *

Mimi's eyes fluttered open when the sun poured in through Taichi's window. She looked around, trying to remember how she got there and why she was in Taichi's room. She heard a slight breathing to her left and looked over to see a sleeping Taichi, peacefully and lightly snoring. Her heart dropped as everything from last night came flooding back to her.

The kissing, the touching, the dancing, it all came back. Did she _sleep_ with Taichi? Mimi looked under the covers to see if her clothes were still somewhat intact, and they were, but she noticed how her leg was on top of Taichi's and how close her body was to his.

She loved waking up to him, and just being this close to him brought a smile to her face. Last night was a dream come true, she actually hooked up with Taichi, and he was pretty into it, if she could say so herself. Then something came back to her that she wish she didn't remember.

_"Mimi, wait, I can't do this," he stated, holding her shoulders. Mimi looked at him with puppy eyes._

_"Why?"_

_"Because you're my friend, and I can't do this to you," he explained, moving some curly hair out of her face. Mimi grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck._

_"Well, we can't have fun just as friends?"_

_Taichi chuckled and looked at her pretty face._

_"I don't know, its a little risky..." He knew how she really felt but he was letting his hormones get the better of him._

_"Don't worry. I just want to kiss you, I don't care if we're doing it as friends and nothing else," she stated with a slight slur._

Damn it! It was just as friends. Well, maybe Taichi feels differently now...

Taichi started to stir and moaned softly. His eyes opened slowly and he smiled at Mimi's hazel eyes.

"Good morning," he said sweetly, stretching under his sheets. She noticed that he had his shirt off and was just wearing his dinosaur pajama pants.

"Good morning," Mimi replied back with a smile, as well.

They were silent for a while as Taichi yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Well, last night was interesting," he stated bluntly. Mimi sighed, rubbing her forehead, noticing the slight headache she had.

"Yeah, but it was a lot of fun," she stated with a smile which Taichi returned. Taichi stayed quiet for a little bit, though. Trying to organize his thoughts.

"I'm sorry that yesterday got a little out of hand, Mimi...I-It wasn't my place to do that," he explained guiltily, turning to his side to look at her. Mimi sighed again and shrugged her shoulders.

"I know everything that happened was just supposed to be as friends...but I'm really glad it happened," she said with a chuckle. Taichi let out a breath of relief and grinned.

"Thank god! So, we're on the same page? It was just a one time thing and we're still friends?" he asked with a smile. Mimi's smile faltered but she tried to fake it as much as she could.

"Yupp!"

"Whew. I don't want to ruin our friendship Mimi. You're an amazing person and an _amazing_ kisser, but I love you as a close friend...I hope you don't hate me," he stated with slight guilt on his face. Mimi's heart leaped, she couldn't ever hate him. Honestly, she was happy to have one night with him, and who knew? Maybe this could lead to something more, it was just going to take time. He _did_ kiss her and make out with her and have sex with her, after all. Well, she was pretty sure they had sex...

"I could never hate you Taichi. I guess we'll just see what happens," she stated with a slight frown. Taichi chuckled and moved some hair out of Mimi's face and behind her ear, leaning his head on his other hand.

"Yeah, we'll see," he said softly with a sly smile.

* * *

Takeru sighed, swirling his coffee with a spoon. Four days until Yamato was going to come and he couldn't hold it in. He didn't know if he could keep it a secret from Taichi and Sora...especially Sora, who was having a hard week as it was, and after yesterday with the Willis ordeal- Hikari explained it to him this morning after Sora vented to her- Takeru didn't know if he could keep it a secret from her. He wanted to warn her.

"You've been quiet and thinking about something all morning, Takeru. What's up?" Daisuke asked, throwing up a tennis ball while sitting at the same table Takeru was. The blonde haired boy looked at Daisuke and sighed again.

"Nothing, just worried about some stuff for work. I have a lot of interviewing and stuff to do today..." he lied, taking a sip of his coffee and trying to avoid eye contact with the mahogany haired boy. Daisuke caught on with it and smiled mischeviously.

"Yeah right, it has to do with this girl you've been sneaking around with, doesn't it?" he asked with a wink. Takeru's eyes widened and he choked on his coffee. Daisuke stood up and pointed a finger at the blond boy as he coughed.

"Ah hah! I knew it. You're not good at lying and you've been disappearing a lot, too. So who is it, huh?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, is she so special where you don't even want any of us to know or is she just really embarrassing," he asked with a snigger. Takeru glared.

"Shut up."

"So, she must be special, right?" Daisuke asked with a grin after seeing the way Takeru reacted.

"When I'm ready to talk about her and introduce her to you guys, I'll let you know," he explained with a slight blush on his face. He doubted that anyone knew it was Hikari and about half the people in their group was definitely going to flip out.

"Well, can you at least tell me if she works with you and where you met her?" Daisuke asked with a pout. Takeru sighed and gave Daisuke an annoyed look.

"Daisuke, don't you have anything else to do? Where are Koushiro and Taichi?"

Daisuke sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Koushiro's been on his laptop doing something for his boss and Taichi's still asleep in his room with Mimi," he explained. Takeru's brows raised at the last part as he got up and put his mug in the sink.

"She slept over...?" he asked slowly, not liking the sound of that. Daisuke laughed and leaned back in his chair.

"Taichi sure knows how to keep them coming, doesn't he?"

Takeru bit the insides of his mouth and sighed.

Jyou walked out his room with Iori behind him, both dressed and talking about how Iori needed a job to pay off his student loans for law school.

"Hey guys!" Daisuke greeted as they walked towards the table. Both men stopped their conversation and returned the greeting. Jyou awkwardly looked at Daisuke, knowing what was coming as of last night.

"So Jyou, you had fun last night, didn't you?" Daisuke asked with a smirk. Jyou blushed as he and Iori took a seat at the table.

"Yeah, it was fun..."

"So, what, are you macking on my sister now?" Daisuke asked bluntly. Jyou cleared his throat and pushed up his glasses.

"Daisuke, I'd rather not discuss this with you-"

"Jyou, she's my sister, there are a lot of this I'd rather you not discuss, trust me, but I want to discuss what in the _hell_ made you want to go out with my sister," he asked with an incredulous expression. Jyou sighed.

"I'm not 'going out' with her, Daisuke, it was just a 'two people hanging out' type of thing," Jyou stated adamantly. Iori smiled as he watched the exchange between the two men as Takeru watched from the sink trying to hold back a laugh.

"Oh, so 'hanging out' technically means 'her ass all up in your-'"

"Daisuke!" Jyou interrupted with a beat red face.

"What? I mean, you guys were dancing like that right?"

"How do you even know, weren't you all over that blonde girl?" Takeru asked from the sink, making his way over to the table and standing behind Iori. Daisuke scoffed.

"Yeah, but we'd take a break every now and then and I'd scout my surroundings," he explained with a smug look. Iori rolled his eyes while Takeru laughed, "So are you guys 'hanging out' again any time soon?"

"I don't know..." Jyou trailed, trying not to look at Daisuke. Daisuke sighed and got up.

"Well, as long as she doesn't hurt you like she's hurt every other guy, I'm fine," he explicated while stretching and heading towards the door. Jyou raised his brow.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

Daisuke turned back to look at Jyou and bit his lip.

"Jun's had so many boyfriends, Jyou, but she's broken all their hearts because of her traveling and spontaneous lifestyle."

Jyou stared at the table as Daisuke said goodbye to Iori and Takeru as he left the room.

There was a silence between the three roommates as Jyou and Iori started scrummaging for food. Takeru sat on the couch and contemplated whether or not he should tell Jyou and Iori that Yamato was coming to visit. Yamato _was_ going to stay in this apartment, after all, so his two roommates had a right to know...

"Hey guys, I have something to tell you..."

Jyou and Iori stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the blond boy.

"What's up, Takeru?" Iori asked as he made his way over to the couch, taking a bite out of his toast. Jyou followed him, drinking out of his mug of coffee and taking a seat next to the nervous, young boy.

"Okay, before I say anything, you guys have to _promise_ not to say anything to anyone."

Both boys raised their eyebrows and agreed, paying close attention to their roommate. Takeru took a deep breath and looked at his two friends.

"In four days...Yamato's coming over to, uh, fix things with everyone," he said slowly, rubbing his thumbs together out of anxiousness. Jyou and Iori stared at him with their mouths slightly opened and shaking their heads.

"Wait, what?"

"Come again?"

Takeru sighed and got up from the couch, pacing back and forth around the living room.

"I know! What am I gonna do? He wants it to be a surprise, but I know for a fact that this whole situation is not going to go well."

"So, you're not going to tell Taichi and Sora that he's coming?" Iori asked. Takeru ran a few fingers through his hair.

"Yamato told me not to, so I have to respect his decision. He's going to stay here for two nights and three days...you guys are all right with that, right?" he asked. Both men nodded.

"Of course we're all right it with, Takeru. I, personally, have never had any grudges held against Yamato and if he's coming to try to fix everything, then by all means, let him stay with us for as long as he wants," Jyou explained with a smile, putting a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. Iori agreed and followed Jyou's actions.

"Try not to stress about it, Takeru. This was bound to happen some day, just let everything unfurl the way it's meant to," the law student stated wisely. Takeru sighed and hugged his two roommates tightly and over-exaggeratedly.

"What would I do without you guys?"

* * *

Mimi walked into her apartment holding her head with a groan and closing the door behind her. She needed to stop drinking so much because it definitely wasn't good for her body. She walked slowly to the dining table and sat down, resting her head on the smooth surface. Sora walked out of the bathroom while Miyako stepped out of her room. Mimi looked up and greeted both girls.

"Hey Meems, how are you?" Miyako asked with a wink. Sora went through the swinging door that led to the kitchen and started to make something to eat. Mimi noticed how Sora ignored her greeting.

"Uh...I'm fine. Just a little hungover and tired," she stated with a slight squeak in her voice. Miyako laughed.

"Well, I would be tired too after the night you had," she said flirtatiously with a laugh. Mimi blushed and looked away from the lavender haired girl. Sora walked back into the room and sat across from Mimi, not looking at her though. Miyako noticed the tension between the two best friends and took this as a chance to excuse herself.

"Well, I'm going to go talk to Koushiro for a bit, I'll see you two later!" she stated not-so-subtly as she headed towards the door and left.

There was an awkward silence between the two girls as Sora ate and read out of her fashion magazine that was lying on the table. Mimi cleared her throat and spoke first.

"Um, Sora?"

There was a slight pause until Sora looked up and then back down to her magazine.

"Yeah?"

"Are you mad?"

"Nope."

Mimi scrunched her brows and stared at the red-head.

"Are you sure?"

"Yupp."

Mimi sighed and looked at the table, not knowing what to do.

"I'm sorry...you know I tend to be really stupid when I drink too much," she apologized. She had no idea what she was apologizing for, though. Sora didn't say anything and turned the page to her magazine obnoxiously.

Mimi glared, getting slightly annoyed.

"What is your problem? You could at least be _courteous_ and fill me in on why you're mad because I obviously don't remember," she snapped. Sora looked up at the cinnamon-haired girl with a glare.

"My problem is with you and you're drinking problem! Me and you both know you just used the alcohol as an excuse to make a move on Taichi, but you were really out of line, Mimi," she explained with spite. Mimi raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms with a slight attitude.

"Oh, I was out of line? Says the girl who got drunk and slept with a random guy while keeping her friends up and worried sick all night," she spat back. Sora tightened her lips and Mimi suddenly froze at what she had just said to her best friend, "W-Wait, Sora, I didn't mean it..."

Sora got up loudly, pushing the chair back forcefully behind her while grabbing her magazine and heading towards their room.

"Sora-"

"You know, I told you to tell Taichi how you felt from day one. I know how he is, he's my best friend. What you did yesterday is not going to help you be with him. Getting drunk, hooking up, and then having sex in his room is the type of girl Taichi finds once a week. You're no different than those other girls now," Sora said quietly to her friend before closing the door to their room and leaving Mimi at the table alone.

Mimi knew that Sora was right, and it killed her. Maybe she did make a mistake, she didn't want Taichi to think she was just some slut that got horny when she was drunk. Mimi bit her lip to hold back tears when she remembered that she told Taichi that she didn't mind just hooking up as friends. What was she thinking?

Hikari walked into the apartment holding some grocery bags in her hand. She smiled when she saw Mimi.

"Hey, Mimi, glad to see you finally awake," she said sweetly, placing the bags inside the kitchen. When she came back to the table she soon realized the saddened expression on her pretty friend's face.

"What's wrong?" Hikari asked, walking over to her and wrapping an arm around Mimi's shoulders. Mimi shook her head and sighed.

"I've just really screwed up. I always screw up," Mimi stated while getting up and heading towards the couch, lying down on it. Hikari watched her and let out a slow breath.

"Is this about last night?"

Mimi nodded with a pout and buried her face on the hand rest cushion of the couch. She felt a little bit awkward talking about this with Hikari.

"I'm sorry, Hikari, I just don't feel comfortable talking about this...with you," Mimi stated with a slight chuckle. Hikari laughed and shook her head.

"I understand. I don't really want to hear about you and my brother, anyway," she said with a cute smile. Mimi returned it as Hikari left the apartment once again, announcing that she was going to Jyou, Iori, and Takeru's apartment to hang out for a bit.

Mimi laid on the couch as she thought about everything that happened last night. She should really apologize to Sora, she was way out of line to say that comment to her. She got up and walked to their room and peeked into it, seeing that Sora was sound asleep on her bed. She was probably a little bit hung over too. Mimi closed the door and sighed. She'd just have to wait for Sora to wake up later.

There was a knock on the door and Mimi figured that either Miyako or Hikari forgot their key. Mimi then realized that the door was unlocked so she walked down to it and looked through the peephole. What she saw next make her heart drop down to her stomach: Her mother.

* * *

Miyako grinned as Taichi opened the door to their apartment. She couldn't help but look him up and down as he wore only a towel to cover his lower half.

"Hey, Miyako," he greeted with a smile, opening the door fully to allow the lavender haired girl in. Miyako gladly stepped into the room.

"Isn't it a little late in the afternoon to be waking up, Taichi?" she asked with a sly smile. Taichi laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, you know me, any chance I get to sleep in, I take it," he explained with a sheepish smile as he headed towards the bathroom to take a shower. Miyako laughed shaking her head. Mimi was one lucky girl to make-out with Taichi. He was _hot._

Miyako walked over to the door that lead to Daisuke and Koushiro's room, knocking softly until she heard Koushiro reply. Miyako had wanted to talk to Koushiro all day, especially after yesterday. Miyako was beating herself up all night; how could she not have figured out earlier that Koushiro had feelings for Mimi? It was so obvious, especially after yesterday!

When Koushiro saw Miyako walk in he instantly started blushing and looked at his laptop. He was sitting cozily on his bed, typing away. He knew what was coming because Miyako had finally figured out his secret.

"Hi, Koushiro! Are you busy?"

"Well, actually, I'm-"

"Great! Let's talk," Miyako interrupted with enthusiasm, plopping down on Koushiro's bed right in front of him. Koushiro sighed and looked at his good friend. Out of every guy in their group, Miyako felt closest to Koushiro just because of their similar interests. They'd always been able to relate to each other.

"I'd rather not, uh, talk," Koushiro stated awkwardly, trying to focus on his laptop again. Miyako rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Oh no, you are not getting out of this one. You have a lot of explaining to do, I want to know the whole story with all details," Miyako explained while bobbing her brows. Koushiro blushed.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," he stuttered, typing furiously on his laptop. Miyako glared playfully and took Koushiro's laptop, placing it to the side. He protested but she shushed him.

"Come on, Koushiro, you can talk to me. I promise, I won't say anything to Mimi," she said softly with a smile. Koushiro looked at the bed sheets, blushing profusely again.

"M-Mimi? I really have no idea what you're implying."

Miyako gave him a stern look. She knew she'd be able to crack him in no time. Koushiro awkwardly looked at Miyako and then back at the bed sheets. In a couple seconds, he looked at her again and groaned.

"It doesn't matter anyway, Miyako," he admitted, looking at his friend with a slight disappointment in his eyes. Miyako gave him a sympathetic look.

"How long have you liked her?"

Koushiro blushed again, trying to hide his eyes.

"Um, I don't know, almost as long as she's b-been here," he awkwardly told his friend. Miyako smiled and fawned Koushiro.

"Aw, Koushiro! You're so cute! And you never said anything?" She asked, bouncing giddily like a little girl. Koushiro sighed.

"Why would I ever say anything?"

Miyako raised an eyebrow.

"Why not? It's never good to keep things like this in."

Koushiro sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I knew from the beginning I would never have a chance."

Miyako's face softened and she looked at Koushiro with puppy eyes. Poor guy, he's never had much confidence.

"And I was right," Koushiro continued, "look at the guy she wants right now. She would never go for a computer 'geek' like me. I'm pretty much invisible next to Taichi."

Miyako let out a loud an 'aww' and crushed her friend in a huge hug.

"Koushiro, your problem is that you have no confidence! You know what this means?" she asked, clapping her hands together when she pulled away. Koushiro looked at her with a hint of fear in his eyes. He could see the psychotic glint in her eyes.

"What...?"

"Make-over!"

* * *

"Mom? W-What're you doing here?"

Mimi's mother smiled and hugged her daughter tightly.

"What, I can't see my one and only daughter whenever I please?" she asked, her short cinnamon-red hair bouncing as she pulled away from her daughter. She looked Mimi up and down and made a face, "Darling, _what_ are you wearing?"

Mimi stood in her spot, completely shocked. She couldn't even really comprehend her mother's second question as her mom walked into the apartment. She gained her senses back and shook her head, closing the apartment door and following her mother.

Mrs. Tachikawa looked around the apartment with a slightly disgusted face but when she looked back at her daughter, her face perked up once again.

"Why do you seem so surprised to see me, dear?"

"I mean, it's been more than a year since I've lived here and you've never visited me before," she explained. Her mother shrugged her shoulders and took a seat on the couch, patting to the spot next to her with a smile. Mimi awkwardly and hesitantly sat down next to her mother, sitting tensely with her back straight. She hadn't seen her mother since last week on her birthday and that hadn't ended on good terms.

"Well, I've really missed you...these past few days," her mother explained with a cheesy smile. Mimi sighed to herself, knowing that her mother was lying. She really didn't want to deal with this with her growing headache due to her hangover.

"Why are you really here, mom?" she asked while taking a breath and leaning back on the couch. Her mother cleared her throat and sat up straighter, looking at her daughter seriously.

"Mimi...Michael's been trying to locate you," she stated bluntly and seriously. Mimi's eyes widened and her head snapped in her mother's direction.

"What?"

"He came to our house the other day and was asking for you. He wouldn't leave till I gave him an address to your current...whereabouts," Mrs. Tachikawa stated while looking around the apartment with repugnance as she said the last part. Mimi stood up with a jolt and gave her mother an incredulous look.

"You gave him this address?"

Mrs. Tachikawa looked up at Mimi and raised a brow.

"Of course not, Mimi, what makes you think I want that boy anywhere near you."

Mimi sighed and started pacing the room. What was she going to do? She could not handle seeing Michael after everything that had happened and what he had done.

"W-Well, do you know why he's been trying to find me?"

"I don't know, Mimi, but I came here to warn you," Mrs. Tachikawa started as she got up and brought a hand to her daughter's cheek, "Even though I'm really upset you never came back home to me and your father, I love the life you've made for yourself here. You're father and I are really proud of you, even though your father might not show it...this boy has done nothing but ruin your life. I don't want him to have any influence on you anymore."

Mimi tried to hold back her tears by shaking her head and stepping away from her mother.

"I don't ever want him a part of my life," Mimi stated, sitting back down on the couch. Her mother nodded and also sat back down. There was a small silence until Mrs. Tachikawa broke it.

"You know you're welcome back at home whenever you need a place to stay," her mother stated with a small smile in her daughter's direction. Mimi remained silent for a few seconds and shook her head, biting the insides of her mouth.

"If that were true, mom, then dad would have come with you today to warn me," Mimi stated, staring at nothing in particular. Her mother didn't say anything and Mimi took that as what she said was right.

"Well, I should get back home, honey, I don't want your father to worry. It was quite a long taxi cab to get here," Mrs Tachikawa stated as she got up and fix her long pencil skirt. Mimi should have known that she wasn't going to stay long. She probably just wanted to make sure Mimi wasn't with Michael at that very moment. Mimi sighed again and led her mom to the door.

"Well, thanks mom, I guess," Mimi stated with a small smile as she opened the door. Her mother smiled before looking at her only daughter proudly and crushing her in a hug.

"It was nice seeing you, Mimi. Promise me you'll come visit me soon."

Mimi chuckled awkwardly and rolled her eyes.

"We'll see, mom."

Her mother smiled proudly and left the apartment. Mimi closed the door and leaned against the door. She let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Michael wouldn't find her, right? What would she even say to him? Mimi hit her head. What was she thinking? She was never going to speak to him again.

"Is everything alright?" Mimi opened her eyes and saw Sora standing outside their room door, "Yeah, I kind of woke up to a perky voice yelling something and was just listening in for a bit."

Mimi pouted, walked over to her best friend, and hugged her tightly. Sora hugged back and smiled. Mimi apologized to what we said before and Sora waved it off, wanting to move on to more important matters.

"So, who's Michael?" Sora asked. Mimi pulled away and ran some fingers through her hair. Now would be a better time than any to explain her story.

"Okay, well it's a really long story so let's, um, talk about it over coffee?"

Sora laughed and they both headed to the kitchen and brewed some coffee. After a few minutes, they were both sitting on the dining table across from each other and Mimi sighed, sitting back in her chair.

"I don't even know where to begin," Mimi said nervously. She was scared to tell Sora because she didn't want to be judged.

"Well, you can start with explaining who Michael is," Sora said while taking a sip of her coffee and yawning. Mimi took a deep breath and stared at the table.

"Michael's my ex...I met him through one of my other girl friends back home. The first time we met, we hit it off, we were a great couple. The problem was that my parents didn't ever approve of him..."

Sora nodded, listening intently.

"His parents were wealthy, just like mine, but he was a college drop-out and my parents had heard a lot of bad rumors about him through other parents. My parents did meet him once, and it was just terrible. He was really disrespectful towards them and barged out of my house when my dad called him a 'good for nothing pot-head.'"

"So, he's a pot-head?" Sora asked, raising her brow. Mimi shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, but what do you expect from a spoiled college dropout living on his own. Anyway, at the time, I was on his side and I thought my parents were really out of line for not accepting him and being rude to someone who I really cared about. Behind their backs, I kept seeing him..." Mimi paused and looked at Sora while biting her lip.

"We'd been going out for almost half a year and then something happened..."

Sora stopped stirring her coffee and looked at her friend closely. She saw a certain sadness flash in Mimi's eyes.

"I became pregnant."

Sora's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly.

"W-What? Mimi, oh my god."

Mimi's eyes teared up and she had to look away, getting up from her seat and wiping her eyes.

"I was so scared and at the time I thought my parents would be supportive, but they weren't. As soon as I told them I was pregnant with Michael's child, my dad kicked me out. He said he did not want his 'slut' daughter living under his roof while carrying a 'bastard' child because of her 'inferior' boyfriend. So I packed up my stuff and left," Mimi explained, trying hard to hold back her tears. She closed her eyes and sat back down, rubbing her forehead as tears came rolling down her face. Sora walked over to her and hugged her close, she had no idea that Mimi had gone through something like this.

"I-I went over to Michael's thinking that he would let me stay with him, but as soon as I told him I was pregnant, he broke up with me and closed the door of his huge mansion in my face," Mimi paused to cry slightly, sniffling, "I had no where to go and had no intentions of staying anywhere near Michael or my parents so I decided I'd have to live on my own...but that meant I wouldn't be able to go through with the pregnancy and take care of my baby... so I had to..."

Mimi stopped to looked up and sigh, the tears still pouring down her face. Sora knew what she was trying to say and hugged her tighter, tears even forming in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Mimi, I had no idea..."

"I got an abortion and came here, getting a job at the restaurant...then I met Hikari and moved in with you guys," Mimi finished, wiping her eyes. Sora pulled away and also wiped her eyes. She couldn't believe emotional, frail, young Mimi had to go through all that...she suddenly had a new sense of admiration for her best friend.

"I'm so proud of what you're doing, Mimi, you're proving your parents wrong. You're such a hard worker and you've come a long way from the life-style you once lived," Sora stated with a smile, holding onto Mimi's shoulders firmly. Mimi sighed and chuckled dryly.

"My dad still hasn't talked to me and my mother just came to tell my that Michael's been looking for me...I can't see him, Sora, not after what he did," she said shakily, trying to hold back her sobs. Sora nodded her head and held her friend closely, again.

"I won't let him near you."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry for the longgg wait! I have the next chapter written out too so I'll update that tomorrow! Enjoy. :)

* * *

Takeru tapped the counter as he stared at the digital clock on the oven. Yamato was going to be here any minute, and his stomach was churning at the thought of his brother being back in this apartment building. The past four days had gone by smoothly, everyone was happy and just trying to get through work. Takeru had decided to take off work today so he could prepare for Yamato's arrival.

Takeru was terrified for Taichi's reaction. With his recent workload, he's been really crabby and ill-tempered. Takeru could honestly say that Taichi might kill him tonight for keeping this all a secret. The blonde sighed and ran some fingers in his hair as he stared at the clock fearfully.

Takeru jumped as his phone rang, the caller I.D. displaying his brother's name. He didn't answer and ran out of his room and down the stairs as quickly as he possible could. When he got to the front of the apartment building and opened the door, he bit his lip as he saw his brother standing there coolly, dropping the cigarette he was smoking and stepping on it with his foot.

Yamato smiled slightly and, before Takeru could even compose himself, crushed his younger brother into a hug. Takeru blushed at this notion because Yamato rarely showed any kind of emotion, even to him.

"You look good, kid," he stated with a smirk as he pulled away and handed one of his duffel bags to Takeru. Takeru laughed nervously and led Yamato into the apartment building and up the stairs to his room.

"Thanks...same for you."

Yamato noticed how awkward his younger brother was being, but kept quiet as Takeru opened the door to his apartment and allowed Yamato to walk in. Yamato sighed as he looked around the room. Takeru guessed he was probably reminiscing about his old life back when he used to live in this building. Takeru observed his brother and noticed how he got a little skinnier. Yamato's hair had also grown longer and he kept it to his shoulders with some of his blond hair covering his right eye. As usual, he was wearing all black attire with his hands shoved in his pockets. Then, Takeru noticed the pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket.

"So, when did you start smoking again?" he asked as he brought Yamato's bags into one of the rooms. Yamato smirked and ran a few fingers through his hair, in the similar fashion that Takeru did.

"As soon as I moved out of here," he stated monotonously, leaning against the wall. Takeru nodded his head and offered him to sit down on the couch in which Yamato complied. Yamato used to smoke a little bit in college until Sora finally got sick of the habit and forced Yamato to quit. Takeru noticed that even though many things about Yamato had changed, his usual personality was quite the same: reserved, quiet, and emotionless.

"So, how is everyone here?" Yamato queried, looking at his younger brother through the corner of his eyes. Takeru shrugged his shoulders, sitting down next to his brother.

"Pretty good...don't know how great they're gonna be after seeing you though," Takeru joked dryly. Yamato smirked again and leaned back into the couch.

"Yeah, this is going to get interesting..."

* * *

Koushiro awkwardly looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. Ever since Miyako had that talk about Mimi with him, the lavender haired girl had got Koushiro dressing in a completely different way.

His hair was slightly messier and he was wearing a tighter fitting dress shirt with grey slacks and dress shoes. Miyako and Koushiro went on a crazy shopping spree in which Miyako made him try on a bunch of clothes and things, and forced him to get them. At first Koushiro hated the clothes, but after noticing the amount of attention he was getting from other people, he started to think that it wasn't that bad. One of the girls in his department said 'hi' to him and asked if he was a new employee...people were actually noticing him!

The other day even Mimi commented on his look, and Koushiro almost burst out into flames because his blush was so apparent. He decided that he keep wearing the clothes because Miyako was right, it was building up his confidence a lot.

Iori decided to meet up with Koushiro before they went back to the apartment so Koushiro smiled and left the bathroom. He walked into his small office space and picked up his laptop case before exiting the room and leaving the building. He saw Iori across the street, sitting on a bench and reading one of his textbooks.

When Koushiro reached him, he smiled at the younger boy and sighed.

"How were classes?"

Iori sighed as he got up shook his head. He hadn't been able to concentrate lately...

"Brutal, I can't wait to graduate already, only one more year to go," he explained as they both headed towards Iori's parked car. Koushiro chuckled at his comment and pat his friend on the back.

"It'll all be worth it, though. Soon, you'll be rolling around in money."

"Yeah, I can't wait for that day. All this hard work will finally pay off," Iori stated with a smile. As they walked down the sidewalk, he noticed a familiar brunette up ahead. His heart stopped when he noticed it was Akina, and he so badly wanted to greet her as they started getting closer to her. Iori almost stopped in his tracks when he noticed that she had her arm latched around the arm of another man...her husband.

"Hey...are you alright?" Koushiro asked, noticing the instant change in Iori's mood. Akina smiled as she window shopped with her husband, pointing to something she liked in one of the stores. Iori ignored Koushiro's question, and picked up the pace he was walking to, trying to get past the sight in front of him. Koushiro kept quiet, trying to keep up with Iori. He didn't want to question the young boy anymore.

Akina realized Iori was there and her eyes widened as she made eye contact with him. She quickly pulled her husband into the store and didn't turn back to look at her other lover. Iori felt his heart break, but kept walking, trying to erase what just happened out of his mind.

As Koushiro and Iori reached the car, Iori got in the drivers seat and just stared at the wheel. What the hell did he do? Why did he ever do this to himself? Koushiro sat down in the passenger seat and looked at him worriedly.

"Iori...? Are you okay? Did you do bad on an exam or something?" Koushiro asked blindly. He hadn't noticed what had just happened.

"No...I-I just realized that I have a lot of work to do when I get back home, and it really bummed me out," he stated swiftly. Koushiro could tell he was lying but decided not to press any further.

Iori started the car and started to head back to the apartment building. They both kept silent as Iori pulled into a parking spot, got out of the car, and walked into the apartment.

"Hey, would you mind if I hung around with you and Takeru? It gets kind of lonely in my apartment now that Daisuke got the car dealership job," Koushiro asked with a smile. Iori laughed slightly and nodded his head as he took out his keys.

As he opened the door and they both walked in, Koushiro's face fell when he saw Takeru sitting next to the counter, taking a bite out of an apple as Yamato cooked some early dinner. Iori also froze, forgetting that Yamato was coming today. Takeru never really talked about it since he told him and Jyou four days ago.

Yamato smirked and looked at the two boys, expecting their reaction to be just like that.

"What's up?" he asked nonchalantly as he shook his pan full of ingredients. Iori quickly snapped out of it and said a quick 'hey' before going up to him and putting a hand on Yamato's shoulder. Koushiro stood in his spot, overwhelmed. After living with Taichi for so long, he couldn't help but get a little bit pissed at the sight of Yamato.

"How was your trip here?" Iori asked politely, walking to his room to change.

"It was good," Yamato replied, turning to look back at Koushiro, "Hey Koushiro, long time no see."

"Yeah..."

Yamato nodded his head, looking back at the food on the stove. Takeru noticed the awkwardness and quickly tried to save the conversation.

"How was work?" the younger blond asked, taking another bite into his apple. Koushiro cleared his throat and shook his head.

"Same old."

"That's good...so, yeah, Yamato's staying here for a couple of days," Takeru stated bluntly as Yamato handed him a plateful of food. Koushiro looked at the floor.

"Yeah, I can see that..."

There was another silence before Yamato spoke up again, putting some dishes into the sink.

"So, you live with Taichi now, right?" he asked. Koushiro winced slightly. What a terrible topic to bring up.

"Yes, I do," he stated forcefully, giving Yamato a slight glare. Yamato took it and nodded his head.

"Yeah, Takeru was just telling me."

A small fire burned in Koushiro's stomach. For as long as he could remember, Koushiro had always battled Yamato, internally, to be Taichi's best friend, but for some reason, Taichi always considered Yamato to be his closest and truest friend. At one point, Taichi even considered Yamato blood. It's so ironic that _Yamato_ would be the one to hurt Taichi and ruin their friendship. Now, Koushiro is Taichi's closest friend and he wasn't going to let Yamato hurt Taichi and everyone else around him.

Yamato saw Koushiro's expression change and he quickly changed the topic.

"Are you hungry?"

Koushiro took a deep breath, realizing that he was being irrational and that maybe he should give Yamato the benefit of the doubt.

"Yes, actually, I am."

* * *

When Hikari saw Yamato in Takeru's apartment, she was probably the only one that greeted him with a warm smile and embrace. She noticed the tension in the room at that point. Jyou had come back from interning and also greeted Yamato, but he was very awkward. Koushiro had gone back to his room and Miyako, Mimi, and Sora were due back any minute now.

The one thing that Hikari noticed was the fact that no one dared to mention Sora's name. Taichi had been brought up a couple times, but that was because Yamato would ask questions about him. Neither Yamato nor anyone else ever spoke of Sora, and everyone was imagining in their heads how terrible this situation was going to be in just a couple of hours.

"So, how's everything with your band?" Hikari asked sweetly, she was never one to hold a grudge. Takeru smiled at her for being so open and kind. Yamato shrugged and played with a toothpick between his teeth.

"It's okay, not as crazy at it used to be back in the day," he stated with a smile. Jyou and Takeru sat on two chairs that they pulled towards the couch while Iori, Yamato, and Hikari sat on the couch. The television was on and they were all pretending like they were watching TV, even though they all were just apprehending the next few hours.

Hikari's phone started to ring and she excused herself as she picked up the phone, seeing that it was Miyako.

"I think I'm in love," Miyako stated as Hikari rolled her eyes.

"Why?"

"Ken just came by my office and dropped off some chocolates, how dreamy is that?" she exclaimed. Hikari laughed and tried to move on to a more important topic.

"Hey, Miyako, I have a question. Do you know when Sora's getting home?"

"Uh, I don't know. The last thing I remember is that she's coming back home with Mimi. They're gonna grab some coffee and head back. Why?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering. Are you on your way back now?"

"Yeah, why? What's going on?" Miyako could hear the uneasiness in Hikari's voice.

"Oh, nothing, I'm just wondering. I'll be hanging out in Takeru's apartment so come by when you get back, okay?"

"...Alright...bye."

Hikari hung up the phone, knowing that this was going to be interesting.

About fifteen minutes later, Miyako knocked on the door and walked in, her smile dropping as she saw Yamato. Yamato sighed, getting tired of seeing everyones reaction, it was getting really old to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked blatantly.

"Miyako!" Hikari exclaimed with a scolding look. Yamato didn't let it faze him and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Felt like visiting and seeing my younger brother. Is that a problem?"

Miyako glared.

"Yeah, it's a problem! Did you even consider all the problems you might cause by coming here? Do you even remember that Sora lives here too?"

Everyone got dead silent as Sora's name echoed in the room. Iori winced and Hikari bit her lip while Takeru and Jyou started fidgeting. Yamato looked at the floor as Miyako shook her head.

"You have a lot of nerve coming back here after so many years..."

Yamato got up and pulled out a cigarette, heading towards the door and exiting the room. The rest of the people in the room kept quiet until Takeru sighed.

"Miyako, you really should learn to control your temper. He's trying to fix everything with everyone, okay?"

Miyako scoffed.

"Don't tell me he wasn't expecting to get a lot of yelling from some of us. Wait till Taichi comes, then he's really in for it," Miyako stated, leaving the room angrily and going back to her apartment. Hikari sighed and followed her.

Jyou bit his lip and looked up at Takeru.

"Should we make sure he's okay?"

Takeru nodded his head, remembering how his brother gets when he's angry.

"No, he probably wants to be alone for a bit. He'll be back soon."

"This is going to be a crazy couple of days," Iori stated. The two other guys nodded their heads and sighed.

* * *

Sora looked at her best friend across the table at the coffee shop.

"So, did you ever talk to Taichi about...you know?"

Mimi coughed on her biscuit and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"Um...well, we've talked and had normal conversations, but never really about that night...but I have a plan," she stated with her chin up. Sora chuckled.

"And what might that be?"

"I'm going to avoid him."

"...avoid him?"

"Yes. Keep him on his feet."

Sora raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not following you, Meems."

"See, if I stop showing interest in him, he'll wonder why, and then he'll be head over heels with me. It's all a game," Mimi explained with a wink. Sora rolled her eyes as she finished her coffee.

"I can't believe you two had sex."

"Shh! Can you not make it seem so crude."

The two friends got up and headed towards Sora's car.

Mimi fixed her waitress uniform as she sat down in the passenger seat with a sigh.

"I'm so excited to take a nap."

Sora smiled and nodded with agreement, "It's been such a long day, I can't wait to just be back home with everyone and chill out."

Mimi's phone vibrated and she dug it out of her purse as Sora started driving toward the apartments. Mimi smiled when she saw it was a text from Hikari.

_'Come into Takeru's room when you get back. Bring Sora, too!"_

Mimi scrunched her eyebrows and turned to Sora as they parked.

"Hikari's telling us to go to Takeru's room."

Sora raised her brow as she got out of the car and fixed her pencil skirt.

"Why?"

Mimi shrugged her shoulders.

The two girls made their way up the stairs and knocked on Takeru's door. Sora noticed the doorknob was still open and heard a lot of voices on the other side, so she opened the door and walked in with a smile, which quickly dropped when she saw a _very_ familiar blond standing at the counter talking to Takeru and Iori while Hikari, Jyou, and Koushiro sat on the couch. The whole room became silent as Mimi walked in with a smile.

"Aw, who's you're friend, Takeru?" Mimi asked bluntly.

The tension could be cut with a knife, and no one dared to speak a word. Hikari stood up as Yamato uttered the first few words:

"Hey, Sor."

Sora quickly turned on her heel and left the room, her heart pounding in her ears. What the hell was he doing here? As she closed the door behind her she saw Taichi standing in the hallway, trying to open his apartment door. He turned and smiled when he saw his childhood friend, but Sora just shook her head, opened the door to her apartment, and slammed it shut.

"Sora...?"

Taichi knocked on her apartment door but she didn't open it. To find out what had made her so upset, Taichi walked into Takeru's apartment and held the same stupefied expression that Sora had moments before when he placed his eyes on his old roommate.

Before Yamato could even say anything, Taichi's eyes squinted in anger.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

Yamato kept his composure as Takeru and Iori tried to sit a little lower in their chairs by the counter.

"Just visiting..."

"Yeah? Well get the fuck out."

Everyone in the room flinched, not knowing whether or not they should get up and leave or stay seated.

Yamato didn't faze; after knowing Taichi for years, he wasn't scared of him. Instead, Yamato half-smiled, and leaned against the counter.

"You know, it's really great seeing you, Taichi, after all these years."

Before anyone could say anything, Taichi glared, ran up to the Yamto, and threw a hard punch to his handsome face.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Here's the next chapter, just as I said. Sorry it's so short! Hope you enjoy :)

* * *

As Taichi went in for another punch, Iori and Mimi quickly ran and tried to pull him back as Takeru held his brother from retaliating. Jyou and Koushiro quickly ran and tried to push Taichi back but Taichi lunged forward, pushed himself between his two friends, and threw another punch onto Yamato's jaw.

This time, however, Yamato got very heated. With a quick grunt and glare, he launched himself at Taichi, sending them both flying onto Iori and Mimi, who quickly scrambled and got up.

"Taichi, stop it!" Hikari cried as she ran and tried to pull her brother off of Yamato. Koushiro helped the younger girl and held a firm grip onto Taichi's arms. Takeru ran and grabbed Yamato as he stood up and held him back.

"You guys need to stop it! This isn't going to solve anything, so just calm down and talk it out," Jyou interrupted wisely. Taichi yanked himself away from his sister and Koushiro, wiping the slight blood on his lip and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut.

With a frustrated sigh, Hikari followed after her brother as Yamato angrily let out air through his nose and rubbed his cheek: the spot in which Taichi had initially punched him. Takeru looked at everyone in the room for a quick second and gave them all a knowing look. Jyou and Iori understood and went into their respective rooms as Koushiro went to exit the apartment. He grabbed Mimi's arm and nudged her to follow him but Mimi quickly walked up to the beaten blond and smiled uneasily.

"So, _you _must be Yamato. I don't think we've officially met, but...my name's Mimi." Yamato looked at her and nodded his head, sitting down on one of the chairs by the counter. Mimi sighed and walked back to Koushiro, leading him out of the apartment.

* * *

"Taichi, come on, let me talk to you!"

Taichi walked into his apartment and marched his way into his room, locking the door behind him. Hikari huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at the closed door.

"Hey, there you guys are! I was wondering why my apartment was empty," Daisuke smiled as he came out of his room, changed out of his work clothes and into just a pair of long boxers.

"Ugh, Daisuke, please put more clothes on," she stated while shutting her eyes and turning back towards the door. Daisuke laughed and bobbed his eyebrows.

"Come on, it's nothing you haven't seen before, Hikari."

Hikari looked back at Daisuke with a shocked glare, hating when Daisuke _ever_ mentioned their short past mistake. Takeru didn't even know about it, and Hikari wanted to keep it that way for now. She always just puts the old events in the back of her mind.

"Can you be quiet, Taichi's in there!"

Daisuke laughed and walked up to Hikari.

"Why is he trapped in his room now? More paperwork to finish and phone calls to make?" he asked. Hikari sighed and shook her head.

"Boy, you missed _a lot_," Hikari stated before slamming on the door again, "Taichi, open up!"

Daisuke raised his brow and became concerned when he noticed the worried look on Hikari's face.

"What happened?"

"Yamato's here...he decided to come visit, but Taichi didn't take it very well. They got into a huge fist fight," Hikari explained, walking away from the door, knowing Taichi wasn't going to open it, no matter how hard she tried.

Daisuke's eyes flared and he stopped Hikari by grabbing onto her shoulders.

"Yamato's here? In this building?"

Hikari looked at the chestnut haired boy and nodded somberly.

"Wow, I'm going to kick his ass. He fought Taichi? Well, whatever, he's going to fight me too," he stated before marching to the door. Koushiro and Mimi walked in before Daisuke could leave and Hikari pulled him back

"Stop, there's been enough violence for one day. Let's all just cool off and wait," Hikari stated, walking back to her apartment. Mimi bit her lip and looked in the direction of Taichi's room.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Koushiro shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"I think he needs time to just calm down and collect his thoughts..."

Mimi nodded and followed Hikari back into their apartment. Miyako was sitting on the couch, on the phone. When she saw Mimi and Hikari walk in, she said 'bye' to the person on the line and hung up.

"Please tell me Sora didn't leave and run off to some bar," Mimi stated, walking towards the room she shared with Sora. Miyako shook her head and looked at the floor.

"Nope, she's in your room. She just barged in and locked herself in there. She won't open the door."

"Well, there's another thing Taichi and Sora have in common," Hikari stated with yet another frustrated sigh. Mimi knocked on the door but Sora wouldn't open it.

"Mimi, just leave her alone. I was standing there for ten minutes trying to get her to open it, but I think she wants to just be by herself. I was just talking to Ken on the phone, and he told me that we should be happy she's not alone at a bar, like last time, and under our care."

Mimi rolled her eyes and grunted.

"No, I'm mad that Taichi's shutting all of us out but I'm not going to let Sora shut us out, too," Mimi declared, pulling out a bobby pin from her ponytail and picking the lock on her door. Miyako and Hikari protested, but Mimi opened the door and walked in. All three girls stopped in their tracks when they saw Sora, still dressed in her business attire, sitting on her bed and working on a few sketches for work.

"Sora...? Are you okay? Why weren't you opening the door?" Mimi asked, walking to her bed. Sora sighed and looked up at her three roommates.

"Look, I'm not going to sit here and be some depressed teenager, sobbing over a guy I have cried too much over already. I don't know why he's here, or what he's trying to do, but I don't want to deal with it. I'm just going to _avoid_ him until he leaves," Sora explained, shuffling through some papers.

Mimi sat down next to Sora and placed her hand on Sora's shoulder. Miyako and Hikari both sat down on Mimi's bed and tried to be supportive as well.

"Sora, you're going to have to face him sooner or later...this might be your best opportunity," Hikari explained. Mimi nodded and held Sora's hand, but Sora chuckled dryly and got up, looking through her drawers for a pair of shorts to wear.

"I know you guys are trying to help me, but I really want to be alone right now."

All three girls looked at each other and nodded, heading towards the door. Mimi stopped at the doorway and turned back to her best friend.

"Remember at the coffee shop when I said I was going to avoid Taichi to keep him interested? Please don't do that with Yamato, Sora, because it's not like you to avoid people. I know I'm doing it with Taichi...but I don't think Yamato's going to come back to you...and I don't want you to get even more hurt by not talking to him and not getting the answers to your questions. Running away is my thing, not yours," Mimi explained with a small frown, closing the door behind her.

Sora bit her lip and tried to keep the tears from spilling from her eyes. She should have known that Yamato didn't come back for her...but she had still hoped that he did. Well...that hope was gone now.

* * *

"Damn, Taichi hit you really hard. For the sake of your pride, I hope you got in a good punch too," Takeru joked. Yamato didn't laugh as he sat on the counter, across from his brother. Takeru frowned as he propped his elbows on the countertop and rested his head on his hands.

"I mean, I'm sure you prepared for something like this to happen, right?"

Yamato looked up at his younger brother and sighed.

"Yeah, I knew this might happen...I just didn't think it would hurt this bad," Yamato stated with a dry chuckle. He wasn't talking about the pain from his physical wounds, and Takeru knew that. Takreru looked at him with pity, wanting so bad to help him fix everything.

"Maybe you should just go to sleep and wait for it all to blow over tomorrow," Takeru stated, noticing a small bruise forming on Yamato's cheek. Yamato sighed, and pulled out a pack of cigarattes.

"I'll be back in a bit, Takeru," he stated as he left the room and headed outside.

Back in the girls' apartment, Sora dressed into black pajama shorts and a red tee-shirt. She heard her roommates talking about the fight Yamato and Taichi got in and was really worried about the whole thing.

She was on her way to Taichi's room to make sure he was alright until she looked out the window and saw Yamato. Her heart stopped as she watched the wind blow through his blond locks. Her window had a perfect view of the front door of the apartment complex, so she could always see who was going in and out.

She couldn't decide whether or not she should go talk to him...

Yes, Mimi was right. She was avoiding him for the wrong reasons, hoping that maybe he'd come desperately knocking on her door and take her into his arms...but she knew now that she couldn't be that foolish, not anymore. She'd spent three years being foolish, and now was her chance to end it once and for all.

Gathering up all the courage she had, she tied her hair in a ponytail, letting her side bangs sweep across her face, and left her room to go outside.

Mimi, Hikari, and Miyako looked up to see Sora leaving her room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Miyako asked. Sora didn't want to tell them the truth.

"Um, I'm just going to head over to Taichi's and see if he's okay..."

The three girls understood and let her go. Sora closed the door behind her and quietly walked down the stairs. As she came to the main door, her stomach churned. She grabbed the doorknob tightly and pulled the door open.

"I knew I could never really get you to stop smoking..."

Yamato turned around when he heard the familiar voice and looked at Sora vacantly. He dropped his cigarette and put it out with his foot.

"I'm surprised you're even out here talking to me. I thought it would be easier to get through to Taichi, but obviously I was wrong."

Sora wrapped her arms around herself as a wind blew over them.

"Yeah, I'm kind of surprised I'm talking to you, too."

Yamato looked her up and down and noticed how she looked a little different, but was still the same young woman he had left behind. She was still the same...

"How have you been?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. Sora glared and looked him straight in the eye.

"Just amazing."

Yamato chuckled softly and Sora almost lost her hard demeanor. She missed his laugh.

"So, I noticed you're business clothes before. I guess everything with you're career is going nicely," he stated, walking closer to her. Sora froze, not liking the feeling she was getting as he approached her.

"Yeah, unlike you, I've made something of myself."

Yamato flinched slightly and looked at her slightly hurt...but he knew he deserved it. There was a small silence until Sora spoke.

"So, really, how is your band?"

"Not so good, but you've already noticed that."

Sora felt bad for snapping at him like that but she couldn't help but to be spiteful. All of a sudden she felt anger rush through her, and all she wanted to do was punch him like Taichi had. There was more of a silence, and Yamato looked at the ground before he turned around and kept his back to her. After a couple moments, Sora spoke up again.

"It's her, isn't it?"

Yamato closed his eyes, glad that Sora couldn't see his expression because he was facing the other way. Sora continued.

"The girl that came knocking on my door three years ago. The girl I caught you with that day in your old apartment. She's the one you're marrying, isn't she? _Hitomi Aikawa."_

Yamato was caught off guard, he didn't know that Sora was going to be this direct. He was half-expecting her to become a wreck, but she was the exact opposite.

"Yes, it's her..."

Sora chuckled sarcastically and shook her head.

"Why'd you come back, Yamato? To poke fun at me? To mock the fact that after three years you've moved on while I'm still right where you left me?"

She saw Yamato stiffen up and shake his head.

"No."

"No? To hurt me some more, then?"

"No..."

"Then _why_, Yamato. Hm? Because I can't quite figure it out," she spat. Yamato turned around and walked up to her, standing dangerously close to her body. Sora felt something rush over her and she all of a sudden felt very warm.

"I came back to clear things up and make everything civil between all of us again."

Sora smirked.

"Well, you're doing a _hell_ of a job."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Three years ago, I was an idiot. I did a lot of things that I regret. I regret moving out the way I did, I regret leaving things hanging with Taichi, and...I regret hurting you. I think I regret that the most..."

Sora shook her head and tried to push back her tears.

"See, that's just the thing," she paused to look into the blue eyes she hadn't gazed into for years, "You regret hurting me...but you don't regret leaving me."

Yamato froze, caught off guard.

"You were going to leave regardless, weren't you? I think what you _mean_ to say is that you feel _bad_ for hurting me...but, at the time, you were just done. You were done with _us_."

Yamato had nothing to say. He didn't know quite what to say. His silence was all that Sora needed to hear. He was never going to come back for her, and Sora had waited years for him to return because she thought that he was still in love with her; she thought that Yamato just needed some space, but she was _so_ wrong.

Sora had finally came to the realization that she needed to come to after three years.

"You know what, Yamato? I don't want your pity. I don't want anyone's pity, not anymore. You can take your apology back, because I don't want it. All I want is for you to just stay out of my life. For three years you've been really good at that, so lets just keep it that way."

Yamato shook his head and held Sora's shoulders.

"Sora, I don't want to-"

"It's not about what you want anymore, Yamato. You've hurt me enough by doing the things that you _want _to do, going after the things that you _want_. Now, it's my turn to get what I want...goodnight."

With that, Sora pulled his hands off of her and opened the door to the apartment complex. After she closed it, she sighed and leaned against the door.

For one of the first times in her life, she felt as if she made the right choice.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: New chapter! Enjoy :)

* * *

Mimi blinked as the sun radiated through the window in her room and quickly used her covers to block herself from the rays. She just couldn't get herself to leave her comfy bed. She peeked a look at the bed next to hers and saw that Sora had already left for work, probably trying to avoid Yamato.

Mimi sighed as she thought about the events from last night. Sora was being very strong about the whole thing and she was proud of her. Taichi, on the other hand, was not himself. Mimi went to his apartment to check up on him and he was still locked inside his room. Her stomach churned at the though of that.

Mimi had hoped that out of everyone, Taichi would open the door for her and talk to her but he didn't. She didn't let it bother her too much, though, and she got up deciding to call in sick for work and trying to lighten the tension between everyone in the apartments.

After taking a shower and changing into casual clothes, Mimi walked out of her room and smiled brightly at Hikari and Miyako. The other two girls were sitting at the dining table, just about to leave for their respective jobs. After they all greeted each other, Hikari spoke up.

"So, Sora's being a much better sport about everything than Taichi is...I saw him this morning and he was so angry that I didn't even want to go near him. But, when he told me that he was going to rent a motel for a couple days to get away from here, I flipped out," Hikari explained to Mimi as the older girl put a clip into her hair.

"I think Yamato needs to stop sitting there with that stupid smirk on his face and actually start talking to Sora and Taichi if he ever wants to 'fix things'," Miyako mocked, making a face in disgust. Mimi looked at the two girls and sighed.

"This whole thing is such a big mess..."

Hikari and Miyako nodded and both sighed. A couple minutes later, the two girls left the apartment and Mimi looked around the empty space in deep thought. Curiosity got the best of her and she marched herself to Takeru's apartment and knocked on the door.

Takeru, who had decided to take a few days off of work to entertain his brother, quickly answered the door.

"Where's Yamato?"

"Nice to see you, too, Mimi..."

Mimi smiled and rolled her eyes at Takeru's offended face.

"So, is he here?" she asked as she walked into Takeru, Iori, and Jyou's apartment. Takeru sighed and closed the door.

"You actually just missed him," he explained. Mimi raised her brow and crossed her arms.

"Where did he go?"

* * *

Sora groaned as more and more paperwork got piled onto her desk. She looked at her new partner, as of two days ago, who was sitting across from her. The young girl's name was Noriko Kinoshita, the girl that Iori had met at the bar, but Sora wasn't aware of that.

"If this spring line doesn't look turn out how it's supposed to, I think I might quit because Nakamura's gonna murder us if we don't," Sora whined.

Noriko's short brown hair bounced as she laughed.

"I think Mrs. Nakamura will fire us if every detail isn't right," she stated. Sora sighed. Her boss, Kara Nakamura, was one of the top fashion designers in town. Working under her was an honor, even though all Sora did was send out orders and give very little input into what the line should look like. Sora hoped that one day she could be like Mrs. Nakamura, and it was her dream to start her own clothing design.

"I don't think we'll be out of here till late, Noriko. There go our lives for the next month," Sora said with a smile. Noriko sighed and got back to filing orders on the computer. Sora's mind wandered for a minute and she thought about last night. She quickly shook her head and tried to cover all those thoughts with shipping orders and fabric materials.

"Sora, there's someone here to see you," a young secretary announced behind Sora from the doorway. Sora sighed and turned around, her heart stopping when she noticed Yamato standing behind the secretary. She quickly tried to calm her racing heart and turned back around.

"Sorry, I don't know who he is."

The secretary left, not caring about the ex couple's problems while Yamato raised a brow and coughed into his hand to get her to turn around again.

"Can I get you lunch?"

Sora bit her lip and hesitated. Noriko scrunched her brows and kicked Sora under their connected desks, giving her a wide-eyed look that probably meant 'a hot blond guy is asking you to lunch, GO!"

"Please?"

Sora turned and looked at her ex boyfriend straight in the eye.

"I thought I made it pretty clear that I don't want you to be around me."

"Yeah, but I miss being around you," he stated with a smirk. Sora bit the insides of her mouth.

"Well, you shouldn't have left, then."

Yamato sighed and walked up to her, and Sora stiffened up.

"I know I shouldn't be asking you for anything, but please just come have lunch with me. There's a lot I want to tell you and explain to you that I didn't get to say yesterday."

Sora thought about it for a few minutes more and let out an exaggerated breath.

"I don't think there is much you can say to explain yourself..."

"Yeah, probably not. But, can you give me a try?"

Sora stared into his pleading eyes and sighed.

"Okay..."

* * *

Koushiro looked at Mimi through the corner of his eye as the sat on his couch. Koushiro had gotten off early from work and felt like taking the rest of the day to relax. Mimi barged in claiming her boredom a few moments before and asked if she could just hang out with Koushiro.

Obviously, Koushiro wasn't going to turn her down but his 'relaxing' time had suddenly turned very tense.

"Do you think Sora's beating the crap out of Yamato right now?"

"I-I don't know...I certainly hope not."

"I hope she is! He deserves it."

There was a silence again as Mimi started to bite her nails out of habit.

"I'm so bored, do you want to go to the cafe or something?"

Koushiro blushed and looked away at the ceiling.

"U-Um...with you?"

"Of course with me, silly, who else?" Mimi replied with a laugh, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. Koushiro tried really hard to stop himself from turning beat red. They both put on their shoes and head out of the apartment complex. Mimi started talking about an incident that happened to her at work the other day and Koushiro was finding it hard to concentrate. He was too distracted trying to keep his balance and keep his breath even. Ever since Miyako gave him a 'makeover', Koushiro felt even more shy and vulnerable around Mimi, but around everyone else he was so much more confident. It was weird.

As they entered the cafe, they both sat down at a nearby booth by the window.

"Hey, remember the last time we came here together? It was when I first moved in! God, it's been so long since then..." Mimi explained, resting her chin on her hand, gazing at nothing in particular.

Koushiro nodded his head and smiled, remembering every detail of that day.

"We haven't a heart-to-heart in a while," she stated with a grin, "how's everything, Koushiro?"

"Good actually, I had a board presentation the other day in my meeting and I think all the board members liked my new idea about a certain software that might give our company an edge against everyone else," Koushiro explained proudly. If there was anything he was confident in, it was his career.

"Wow, that's great! Sounds like you'll own that company one day," Mimi said with a smile. Koushiro chuckled shyly.

"How about you, how's work?"

Mimi sighed.

"Well...being a waitress doesn't have much of a progression. Everyday is the same old thing. But, don't tell anyone, I actually applied to the local community college. I have an interview in a couple weeks for the culinary program over there so _hopefully_ I'll impress them and I'll be on my way," she explicated with a grin, "I'm waiting to tell everyone _if_ I get in so I can save myself the embarrassment if they reject me from the program."

Koushiro smiled, "I highly doubt you'll get rejected. That's great, Mimi, I'm really happy that you're taking initiative. So, have you saved up enough money from your job at the restaurant?"

"Yeah, I have enough money to last me for a couple of years, but not enough if I want to finish the program. The thing is...I was planning on asking my parents for a loan to pay off the rest..." Mimi said with slight contempt.

Koushiro didn't know the situation with Mimi and her parents so he couldn't fully understand why it disheartened her to ask money from them. He didn't want to press her, though, and kept casually talking.

"Well, I'm sure they won't mind loaning you some money."

"Yeah, that's not the problem though. When I first moved out, my mom would send me checks every month, but I always sent them back. I didn't want their money, I wanted to prove that I could survive without them. Asking for money now is a big hit to my pride," she explained with a slight laugh.

"Well...don't let it hurt your pride. I'm sure your parents will be proud that you're making something of yourself. It's not like you're asking for money because you can't earn it for yourself; you can easily make money for yourself, but this is for your future so I can't see them getting angry. Besides, you can pay them back after you became a famous, successful chef," Koushiro finished wisely with modest smile. Mimi grinned and rested her head on both of her hands.

"Why are you such a nice guy, Koushiro?"

He blushed and didn't answer, shrugging his shoulders awkwardly. Mimi laughed at his uncomfortable posture and sat back in her chair. She stayed quiet for a while, just looking at the red-haired man in front of her.

"You look good, Kou."

Koushiro coughed at her comment and raised his brow.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't know, lately you've been dressing differently...I like it," she stated sweetly, "you look good."

Koushiro didn't really know what to say and responded with a reluctant 'thanks'. His heart was beating pretty fast; he couldn't believe that Mimi had just said that to him. Miyako was right, the new look did attract Mimi's attention.

The waitress came and took both of their orders. After she left, Koushiro looked up at the beautiful woman in front of him and bit his lip.

"Hows Taichi?" Mimi had confessed to him a while back about her feelings for Taichi. After the events at the bar...and the events _after_, he was curious about what happened, even though-deep down-he didn't want to know. It was just eating him up inside: Does Taichi want to be with Mimi?

Mimi blushed severely and started to fidget, looking around the cafe.

"Um-I don't know he's been pretty distant since Yamato has gotten here," she said softly. Koushiro nodded, not saying anything, hoping that she'd continue...and she did.

"We've never fully talked about it," she explained, "we both came to the agreement that it was a moment of mistake and that it was nothing more than two friends who accidently got..._physical_."

Koushiro furrowed his brows and stared at Mimi's saddened expression. Obviously, Mimi only came to that agreement because that was how Taichi felt and she didn't want to embarrass herself, but Koushiro couldn't deny how messed up that was on the part of Taichi. How could he do that to her when he _knew_ that Mimi had feelings for him?

"Be careful with Taichi, Mimi. I don't know why, but Taichi's never been a 'relationship' type of guy...and I don't want you to get hurt..."

There. He said it. And Koushiro felt horrible for admitting it to Mimi and partially sabotaging his best friend, but he didn't want her to get hurt. Koushiro honestly thought that Taichi would treat Mimi differently, but it seems like he isn't, and he noted in his head that he had to talk to Taichi about it before it got worse.

"I know...it's so sad because I _know_ that he doesn't want anything, but...I can't help but have hope because I've been let down so much in the past that I know there's always hope _somewhere_," she paused for a second to look out the window at people walking by, "Sora told me that drunk, stupid girls are usually the type of girls that throw themselves at Taichi all the time...and that, because _I_ had acted that way and might have slept with him, I didn't seem different from any of those other girls."

Koushiro shook his head as Mimi continued.

"But I've realized that the one advantage that I have over all those girls is that I'm Taichi's good _friend_. And, maybe, if I give it time, he'll realize what's right in front of him...I've just gotta wait for that moment, I guess," Mimi finished with a hopeful smile, turning back to Koushiro.

Koushiro's heart sank like it had never sank before. She was willing to _wait_ for Taichi, just like he was willing to wait for Mimi. Unfortunately, Koushiro couldn't wait for her anymore because she would never be his. He was crazy to think that he could ever have Mimi, and he hated himself for falling for her in the first place. He should have known better than to think that changing the way he dressed would make a difference. He finally realized that this was it, he had to let her go and move on. Something that Koushiro had been used to his whole life, anyway.

Once again, the pauper lost the princess to a prince.

"Oh my god, I probably sound like some stupid teenager with a crush," she stated with a laugh, "but I've dated so many grimy, terrible, disrespectful guys that I don't mind just waiting for one that I really want."

Koushiro nodded his head, wanting to just say, 'hey, look right in front of you, I'm not grimy, terrible, or disrespectful...what about me?' but Koushiro let it go. He had to let it go.

* * *

Yamato stared at the young woman sitting in front of him and kept his emotions at bay, like he usually did. He didn't want her to see him look at her with guilt. He watched her as she stirred her soup, staring right down into the bowl. She looked so much more mature since he had left her...it was actually kind of scary. The past three years, he remembered Sora the way she looked while their relationship was in their prime: during college.

Back then, her hair was short, down to her shoulders, and she usually wore casual clothing and very little makeup. He always loved that about Sora, she was natural, nothing about her was fake or untrue to herself. Now, however, she was different. Her hair was longer, parted to the side with side-sweep bangs- at the moment she had pinned one side of her hair in an elegant way. She was wearing business casual attire with a black pencil skirt and a bright red dress-shirt. Her make up was a little bit heavier than he remembered but it made her facial features stand out beautifully...she had _really_ grown up.

Sora could feel him staring at her and looked up, creating an awkward eye-contact between the ex-couple which caused both of them to look away.

"Look, I know you hate me right me now-"

"_Hate_ is a strong word...but, yes, it's appropriate," Sora stated slyly, looking down at her soup and stirring it again. Yamato sighed and bit his lip in frustration.

"Okay, I know I deserve some of the resentment, but you're going to have to stop doing that every time I speak if we're ever going to make progress."

"I've already _told_ you that I don't want to make 'progress'. I just want you to stay out of my life."

"Why don't you want to fix anything? Don't you have questions?"

Sora stayed quiet at his comment and looked up into his ice-blue eyes. There was more silence until Sora finally spoke up.

"Why did you leave?"

Yamato ran some fingers through his hair as he looked down at his uneaten burger.

"Because back then...I didn't think I had anything worth staying for..."

Sora nodded her head, staring at her soup, taking in what he had just said. She couldn't deny that the words that just came from his mouth felt like one hundred knifes stabbing her body.

Yamato took her silence as a cue to continue.

"I'd been on tour for so long that things back at home felt different. Our apartments didn't feel the same to me anymore, I had experienced too much out on the road which became my new home and I really missed that feeling. You all had gotten closer and I felt like an outsider. The only ones who were somewhat the same were you and Taichi...but even Taichi was started to be weird around me and you were becoming too attached..."

Sora knew it was true so she didn't deny it. She didn't consider her being 'attached' to be a bad thing, however, because Yamato _had_ been on road for a while so she had really missed him.

"I'd also been unfaithful to you on tour...which made it impossible for me to even look at you without feeling guilt so I tried to avoid you as much as I could. In the end, I just couldn't stay because I just didn't belong there anymore. There was no reason I felt that was worth staying for."

Sora looked at him incredulously.

"So, you cheated on me and just felt like I wasn't worth keeping after that?"

"No, Sor, it's not like that."

"Well, that's how your making it seem," she spat back, hating that he dared to call her by a nickname.

"I was naive back then, in love with the feeling of being on tour and performing, not having to worry about anything. I was addicted to that feeling, I needed it back...you of all people know how I constantly hold back my emotions. Well, on the road, I didn't need to restrain myself, I could express myself through my music all the time. I didn't get that feeling anywhere in Odaiba..."

Sora bit her lip and looked down, placing her hands on her lap.

"Are you saying that you felt that you couldn't express yourself to me? That you could never break down your restraints with me? We went out for five years Yamato, _five years_. Were you not yourself with me for that long?"

Yamato shook his head slowly.

"That's not it...you know that in those five years, for the most part, I was happier than I'd ever been before that. Even before our relationship, you were there for me when my parents were going through that nasty divorce, and we were only fifteen. What you have to understand is that the way I felt on the road was the happiness I felt with you but in a more reckless and addicting way, kind of like a drug...in the end, I made a decision that I partially regret."

Sora raised her brow, "Partially?"

"I mean, I told you that I regret leaving you and Taichi the way I did...but, in the end, I'm happy where I am now..."

Sora nodded her head and looked away, trying to keep her anger and emotions from surfacing. A part of her wanted him to be miserable...she hated that everything worked out so well for him while everything has only fallen apart for her.

"So, how'd you meet her?" she asked, looking at him right in the eye. Yamato tried to mask his uncomfortableness and shifted in his seat.

"On the road..."

There was another silence as Sora waited for him to continue, obviously wanting to know all the details even though she knew it was going to hurt her.

"She's associated with the other band that opened with. She's their manager's assistant and was on the road with us most of the time..."

"So...did you tell her you had a girlfriend back home or did she just stupidly come knocking on my apartment door that day?"

Yamato clenched his jaw because of the rude way Sora brought her up, but he also knew that she had every right to be angry.

"She knew about you...but she thought that when I went back to Odaiba the first thing I did was break up with you. She mixed up our apartment numbers that and didn't know who you were."

Sora let out a fuming breath, wanting to bang her fists on the table or, even better, throw punch at Yamato across the table. All of a sudden, her phone started to vibrate and she feared that her boss was calling. She looked at the ID and saw Taichi's name illuminate on the screen. She quickly ignored the call and then realized how dumb of a move that was. She figured that Taichi knew that she was purposely ignoring him and kept calling back.

Sora sighed, excusing herself from the table, and walking through the entrance before picking up his call.

"Where are you?" Taichi asked suspiciously from the other side. Sora sighed, she should've known that Taichi was going to call her today...they hadn't really talked since Yamato's arrival and he was probably worried about her.

"I'm on my lunch break."

"Well, then why were you ignoring my calls?"

Sora bit her lip, "I wanted to eat in peace, Taichi."

Sora got nervous from the silence on the other side. After a few moments, Taichi replied.

"You're with him right now, aren't you?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me."

Sora could tell he was getting really angry so she sighed.

"He came to my office, begging me to have lunch with him."

"And you just went with him?"

"He wanted to explain things to me, Taichi...and I realized that I actually have a lot of questions."

"What the _hell_ are you doing, Sora. This is the guy that abandoned you for three years, you shouldn't even bother with what he has to say."

"Well, I need to know."

Taichi kept silent on the other side again and Sora looked up at the sky while tears formed in her eyes.

"I'm not like you, Taichi, I can't go on forever not knowing _why_. I'm not that strong...I thought I could be, but I can't. You may not want to know why Yamato left or why he did the things he did to you, but I need to know."

After a little more silence, Sora heard her phone beep and realized that Taichi had hung up. Sora closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath and calm down before entering the restaurant again and heading back to her seat.

Yamato looked at her solemnly and then looked back at the table.

"It was Taichi, wasn't it?"

Sora didn't respond and just sat back down, looking at him. After a couple of minutes, Sora spoke up. If Taichi wasn't going to get answers for himself, Sora was atleast going to quench her own curiosity.

"Why'd you steal from Taichi? You should have had enough money to sustain yourself."

Yamato knew that she was going to ask and looked straight at her.

"Because I was selfish and a terrible friend..."

"That doesn't completely answer my question."

"...Because, at the time I had burned through a lot of the money I earned doing things that I wish I hadn't...Taichi was a great friend and took care paying the apartment bill and I completely took advantage of him. I needed money to run away, basically. It was a last minute decision that I think I'll regret for my entire life..."

Sora looked at him incredulously. All of a sudden, everything that he had done to her didn't seem as terrible as what he did to Taichi. She lost any little respect she had for Yamato right then and there.

"You stole so you could leave all of us, and then probably use a lot of that money for crap that isn't worth losing your friends over...who are you?"

"I'm not like that anymore, Sora, I was different back then."

"I don't know anything anymore. I don't know who you are anymore..."

"I know...it took me a long time to find myself again..."

Sora was done, she didn't want to hear anymore, but Yamato still had something he wanted to say.

"I know I probably seem like the devil to you right now...I have no justification for anything that I did...especially with Taichi, but all I know is that I will always care about you guys and I won't quit until I earn both of your forgivenesses."

Sora couldn't help but notice how sincere he looked and she actually pitied him. He had to live with the burden of all this...she slightly admired that he even came back and was trying so hard to make things right...

"So...why didn't you break up with me the day you came back from tour?"

Yamato smiled at her and looked at the table. Sora's heart fluttered.

"I couldn't let you go just yet...It was harder for me to leave than you think."


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I'm just spitting these chapters out, aren't I? So, I re-read the first chapter to this story and it is complete and utter CRAP. Is there a way I can replace it without losing the reviews for that chapter? Ugh, I really can't stand it. Haha, but anyway, enjoy this chapter! I really loved writing it :)

* * *

"Do you think we're gonna last?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"I don't know, I'm just curious. What do you think?"

"Takeru, this is a weird question...I-I don't know what I think."

"How is it a weird question?"

"I don't know...we've only been together for four months," Hikari stated quietly. They both were laying on Takeru's bed as Hikari rested her head on his shoulder. She smiled and looked up at him.

"I like how things are now, I don't want to think about the future just yet," she explained. Takeru scrunched his face so he looked like a sad little puppy and Hikari laughed, flicking his nose. She sat up and leaned over his chest, touching his face lightly.

"Remember the first time we got together?"

Takeru grinned, "How could I forget? You were all over me."

Hikari laughed, hitting his arm.

"Me? You were the one who started talking about high school and how you had the biggest crush on me!"

"Yeah, but you were the one who kissed me first," Takeru paused to snigger, "and _you_ were the one who came to my apartment."

"I came to borrow cheese because we ran out and Mimi was insisting on making this new dish she saw on the 'food network'," she explained as she rolled her eyes. Takeru chuckled.

"Uh huh, sure, you definitely just wanted to make a move on me."

"Takeru, stop flattering yourself," Hikari retorted, placing her body fully on top of him. Takeru grinned again and brought his hands behind his head.

"Well, you know what's cute?"

Hikari raised her brows and waited for him to answer.

"We fell in love because of cheese."

Hikari rolled her eyes with a chuckle and placed a perfect kiss on his lips. Takeru obliged and softly kissed back.

Before they could get anymore intense, someone knocked on the door and Takeru and Hikari looked at each other with wide-eyes. Hikari pushed herself off Takeru and went to sit at Takeru's desk to make it look like she was doing something productive.

"Who is it?" Takeru asked shakily, trying to straighten his clothes out.

"It's me, open up!" Daisuke whined from the other side. Takeru groaned and got up to open the door.

Daisuke smiled when he saw Takeru, wearing dress pants, a light pink button up shirt, and a black tie. He raised a brow, however, when he saw Hikari. Takeru's heart started to race...he didn't figure it out did he?

"Hey, Hikari, why are you back from your school already?" he asked, walking in and not suspecting a thing. Takeru sighed to himself, closing the door. He should have known that he wouldn't have figured it out, it was Daisuke after all.

Hikari looked up from the desk that she was pretending to do work at and smiled.

"There was a half-day for the kids today so we got out of work early too," she explained. Daisuke nodded before he turned to Takeru and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him violently.

"I don't know what to do!" he screamed. Takeru shoved him away a little and looked at the boy as if he was insane. Hikari raised a brow.

"What's wrong, Daisuke?"

"I hate my job."

Takeru and Hikari both rolled their eyes together.

"Daisuke, you've only been working there for a couple of weeks, and I thought you loved it at the dealership," Takeru stated as he sat down on his bed.

Daisuke sighed and looked at the floor, taking a seat next to Takeru and burying his face in his hands.

"I did, but now I'm so sick of it. People are rude and I haven't been making any sales so my boss is starting to seriously hate me. But, most of all, I hate that I'm trying to make people buy cars for an unreasonable price...I feel like I'm cheating them! I don't like it..." he explained. Hikari gave a glance at Takeru and smiled. Daisuke was a lost puppy, wasn't he?

"Well, Daisuke, if you really hate it then just quit."

Daisuke looked at Takeru incredulously after his comment.

"You're not even going to convince me to keep working there? Takeru, I came to you because I thought that out of everyone you'd tell me to suck it up and keep the job!" he exclaimed in shock. Hikari laughed and shook her head.

"Daisuke, even I would tell you to quit. No one's going to tell you to keep at a job that you hate, especially if you realize early on that you don't want to do it anymore," she explained. Daisuke sighed.

"You both are saying that because you know the job is dumb," he explained. The secret couple kept quiet. No one in the apartments really approved of Daisuke's new job, they just played along for his sake because he was so happy. Since he finally realized what a dead-end job he had, Takeru and Hikari were happy, for lack of better words.

"Daisuke, you don't want to stay at a job you hate, do you? You want a job that you'll be pleased with you're whole life, isn't that why you started to find your 'meaning in life'," Takeru asked with mock. Daisuke shoved him a little and sighed.

"Yeah, you guys are right...I guess I'll call my boss and give him the news," Daisuke stated, loosening his tie a little before getting up.

"Good luck, Daisuke," Hikari wished with a smile. Daisuke gave a small, solemn smile and left the room. Takeru sighed and looked at his girlfriend.

"The poor guy is so lost, I feel bad. We all got so lucky, finding jobs we love, but poor Daisuke got left behind."

Hikari gave a half-smile and nodded her head, walking over to Takeru and running her hand down his back as she sat down.

"He'll find his way...he's Daisuke, after all."

Takeru shrugged his shoulders before kissing her on the lips.

* * *

"Come on, Taichi, just listen to me for a second."

"Leave me alone."

"Could you stop being a jackass for one minute and hear me out?"

Taichi stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at Sora's flustered face. She had been trying hard to keep up with his fast pace. They both had just come back from their jobs, Yamato dropped Sora back off to her work after their lunch a few hours ago. Taichi sighed and crossed his arms, glaring at her slightly.

"Just talk to him-"

"No."

"I'm not telling you to forgive him but at least-"

"No," he said more adamantly.

Sora's nose flared in anger as she crossed his arms and mimicked his posture.

"Why are you being so stubborn?"

"Why did you give in to him so easily? He's being selfish, I don't know why you can't see that. After all the shit he did, we don't have to listen to his explanations," Taichi spat back. Sora bit the insides of her mouth and shook her head.

"Don't you want closure?"

"I don't _need_ closure."

"Well, maybe he wants to fix things-"

"I don't give _two-shits_ if he wants to fix things."

Sora kept quiet, trying to think of ways to not only persuade Taichi to talk to Yamato-because she had told Yamato that she'd try to get Taichi to hear him out before they left the restaurant-but she was also trying to think of ways to defend herself. She wasn't an idiot for hearing Yamato out was she?

Taichi sighed, looking around the lobby of their apartment building before walking up the stairs. Sora followed him and kept persisting.

"He used to be your best friend, Taichi, don't tell me you don't care about him anymore-"

"Sora, you really need to stop talking. You of all people should know that I couldn't care less about him," he stated really getting irritated, searching his dress pants for the keys to his apartment.

"I'm not supporting him, don't think I am, I just want all of us to put this behind us and move on-"

"See, that's the problem, Sora. I'm indifferent, I don't care if I never talk to him again, it won't affect me. _Obviously_, you missed him and needed to hear him out to move on. I _don't_," Taichi said lowly, getting very angry, very quickly. Sora glared at her best friend.

"Yeah, it doesn't affect you, right? That's why you've been avoiding everyone and hiding behind your job the whole day."

Taichi shoved the key inside his doornob and opened it violently.

"You know what, Sora, you're getting on my _last_ nerve-"

Taichi stopped in his tracks when he saw Yamato sitting on his apartment couch. There was a long silence between all three of them until Taichi spoke up.

"Get your 'pretty' blond ass _off_ my couch."

Yamato sighed and stood up.

"Let's not get into another fist fight and be civil, Taichi."

Taichi looked at him incredulously and just walked towards his room. Sora ran past the brown-haired man and blocked his way, spreading her hands out. Taichi stopped and glared.

"Are you _really_ taking his side?"

"I'm not taking any sides, I hate him just as much as you do..."

"You know, I'm right here." Yamato stated sarcastically, and the two best friends turned to give the blond a quick glare.

"But," Sora continued, "I'm glad I got to hear his explanations. Albeit, I don't feel much better, but I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Just give him a couple of minutes," she explained softly. Taichi's jaw clenched, his body becoming rigid.

"I would rather jump off my company's building, which is twenty floors tall, by the way," he explained mockingly before trying to push past Sora.

"Why can't you just talk to me for a bit, Taichi? I want to make things better-"

"What, so you waited three years?" Taichi retorted back maliciously. Yamato didn't wince. Sora pushed Taichi back towards the living room and sighed.

"Look, I'm going to leave, just promise me you guys won't kill each other..."

The two men just glared at one another, not answering Sora's question. Sora cautiously left the apartment and closed the door behind her.

Taichi was contemplating what he should do until a thought came to him.

"How the hell did you get into my apartment, anyway?"

"Daisuke let me in...and after a few insulting comments, he let me stay and wait for you to come back."

"Remind me to kick his ass."

Yamato smirked and looked up at his former best friend.

"The place looks the same...just a little more cluttered."

Taichi glared and shook his head. He didn't even know why he was listening to Yamato. Taichi ignored him and started walking towards his room again.

"I'm sorry, Taichi, I was an idiot back then...I'm different now," Yamato paused to take out something from his pocket, holding it out to Taichi. Taichi stopped in his tracks, yet again, and turned around. He saw a small piece of paper that was held loosely between Yamato's fingers. Taichi scoffed and crossed his arms, turning back to Yamato's direction.

"Do you really think paying me back is going to fix everything?"

Yamato didn't say anything and kept a stoic face. He didn't know what to say.

"And, what, just because you've turned your life around I'm supposed to forgive you? Sympathize for you?" Taichi asked, walking up closer. He grabbed the check from Yamato's hands and opened it to see the amount: 5,000 dollars. Taichi was pleasantly surprised that Yamato was paying him back completely, but it didn't change anything in Taichi's mind. He ripped up the small paper and sprinkled the shreds in front of Yamato's face so they fell at his shoes. Taichi saw a bit of sadness flood Yamato's eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came and Yamato became stoic yet again.

"Sora might have fell for your little 'show', but guess what. I'm not still in love with you."

Yamato glared at the comment. That was a low blow.

"She's not still in love with me."

Taichi rolled his eyes and took off his suit jacket, throwing it on the couch and walking to the fridge, taking out two beers. He violently threw one to Yamato, which the blond barely caught.

"You wanna talk? Okay, let's talk." he stated, sitting down obnoxiously on one of the stools at the counter, taking a swig out of his beer while bobbing his brows tauntingly. Yamato was starting to get very annoyed at Taichi's vicious attitude. He was good at getting at Taichi's nerves, though, because back then, he was the one who knew Taichi the best. He smirked and took a seat across from Taichi, not opening up his beer.

Taichi raised a brow at this behavior and Yamato smirked even more.

"I don't drink alcohol anymore."

Taichi rolled his eyes and laughed sarcastically.

"_Wow_, what a saint. You do know cigarettes might kill you just as fast, the way you smoke. But, hey, whatever makes you feel like you're God's child is cool with me," he stated with a condescending smile. Yamato couldn't take it, this was the last straw, and he had to get out of there before he punched Taichi square in the face.

Yamato got up and shoved the stool behind him, heading toward the front door. Taichi took another chug of his beer as he watched his blond 'friend'.

"That's right, Yamato, just run away. You're good at it anyway. Don't let the door splinter your ass on the way out."

Yamato stopped on his tracks and turned around.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"I thought it was pretty obvious that you're my problem."

"No," Yamato marched back so he was across from Taichi again, "what is it going to take for you to let it go? I'm trying my hardest here, and I know I don't deserve anything from you guys, but I'm trying. I'm _trying_."

Taichi leaned in closer and rested his head on his hand.

"Do you want an award for that?"

Yamato pursed his lips and dropped something on the counter in front of Taichi. Taichi gave a confused look but his face paled slightly at what he saw.

"I take it with me everywhere I go. If I didn't 'care' for three years, like you think, I wouldn't cherish it as much as I do."

Taichi stared at the chain on the table. In college, for Yamato's birthday, Taichi got a dog tag engraved for Yamato. Yeah, it sounded a little bit gay, but Yamato loved sentimental trinkets like that. He was secretly a deep, emotional guy. Or he _was._ On the dog tag it said, '_Happy 20th birthday_,' on the front and on the back it said, '_Because you like man jewelry..._'

Taichi quickly tried to suppress the deep feeling in his gut and looked away.

"What, just because you pull out some cheesy old gift, you think I'm gonna get all mushy and forget everything?"

"No...but I hope it makes you see that I still really care about our friendship...even thought I might not have shown it properly for a long time."

Taichi got quiet and stared at the table. He had realized something in the past couple years: Yamato was _always_ the one person to hurt him more than anything...but that didn't mean he didn't miss having his best friend around. That didn't mean that Yamato didn't mean anything to him. He knew he was only lashing out to him because he was resentful...very resentful.

Yamato took Taichi's silence as a cue to keep going so he sat back down.

"I screwed up big time, I know that. I was a dick the way I left Sora and I hate myself for stealing from you and just running off. I was actually being treated for depression for a while because of all the dissonance," he stated with a sarcastic smirk, "I finally got the courage to come back after I figured out how much I wanted all of you back in my life."

Taichi glared at the table and shook his head.

"Stop that. Stop trying to make me fucking pity you. You deserved to have felt terrible for those three years. I don't feel bad for you at all."

Yamato nodded. He didn't want to argue with Taichi because he was finally making some progress.

"All I know is that I'm sorry..."

Taichi stayed quiet again staring at the dog-tag. Yamato was a smart kid to bring that out and make Taichi feel all nostalgic. He only had four words for Yamato after that:

"You're a fucking jackass."

Taichi smiled and Yamato relaxed, smiling back.

"I know this is probably too much to ask and going make me seem really selfish but...would you mind being one of my groomsmen?"

Taichi rolled his eyes and took another sip from his beer.

"Slow down there, blondie, I still don't like you and still wanna punch your face so hard that all that annoying hair falls out."

Yamato chuckled and shrugged.

"It was worth a shot..."

Taichi stared at Yamato for a couple seconds, before shaking his head and getting up, throwing out his empty beer can and going into the fridge to grab another one.

"Sorry for kicking your ass the other day," Taichi stated before sitting back down, loosening his tie. Yamato raised a fine brow.

"You didn't kick my ass."

"I definitely did," Taichi boasted. Yamato didn't smile back. It was a 'male pride' sort of thing.

"Glad to see you haven't changed one bit."

Taichi shrugged his shoulders and ran a few fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, thank god at least one of us is still cool."

"Don't flatter yourself," he stated with a smirk. Taichi rolled his eyes and sighed. He actually missed this...he loved hanging out with Yamato, just sipping on beer and talking. Taichi looked at the time, though, and realized that he had to finish a lot of works for a presentation for his boss tomorrow.

"Alright, I really have a lot to do. Not all of us are rockstars," Taichi stated as he got up and chugged most of his beer. Yamato got up, grabbing the dog-tag and putting it back in his pocket.

"So, are we cool?"

Taichi looked Yamato up and down before replying:

"No."

Yamato stood up straighter and nodded his head.

"But...it's a start. A very, very small step...but it is a start," Taichi stated with another smile. He was surprised at how quickly he changed his attitude about the blond. Yamato smiled back and bowed his head. Before Taichi went into his room, he turned around and fidgeted with his tie.

"Um...you know what? I'll be a freaking groomsman."

Yamato looked at him and raised his brows in shock.

"Y-You will? Why the sudden change of mind?"

"Well, I don't really know...we used to talk about how we'd both be each other's best men whenever we got married. I guess this will hold up your end of the bargain slightly. And besides, then you'll owe me another favor, blondie," he stated with a smirk.

Yamato smiled and looked at the floor.

"Thanks, Taichi..."

Taichi chuckled and leaned against the door of his room.

"Yeah, you never really did deserve a friend like me."

"I really didn't. Thanks again," he stated with another perfect smile, shoving his hands in his pockets. Before Taichi turned into his room, Yamato spoke up.

"And Taichi...stop hating on my hair, I know you're jealous of it. You always were."

With that Yamato left the apartment and Taichi rolled his eyes mumbling under his breath.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Next chapter! Nothing too exciting but it's leading up to the next few :) Enjoy, review!

* * *

Jyou let out a huge sigh as sat down on a chair outside one of the hospital rooms. It was an understatement to say that he was exhausted. All of a sudden, his shifts at the hospital had increased and he was on to getting some specialty training from doctors at the hospital.

'The year will be over in no time,' he thought to himself. After a student graduates from medical school, he or she then goes into residency at the hospital which is when a graduate spends treating patients, teaching less-experienced colleagues, and completing paperwork and other tasks. Since Jyou wanted to be a cardiologist, he'd be in residency for about three years. His first year, however, would be over in four more months.

Don't get him wrong, he was grateful for all that he was learning, but sometimes he just didn't understand why he had to go through all this training and preparation when he was ready to be a legitimate doctor _now._

Jyou looked at the time and noticed that it was time for his break. He got up and walked to the first floor, clocking himself out and walking out of the hospital. He sighed as he took a deep breath, closing his eyes to the warm august breeze brushing against his face.

He started walking toward's his favorite sandwich place until a voice stopped him.

"Hey, doctor."

Jyou turned around and his heart fluttered at the sight of Jun.

"Oh, h-hey!"

Jun smirked at his nervousness and watched him quickly push up his glasses.

"I don't think its a coincidence that we keep bumping into each other," she stated slyly, nudging him with her hip. Jyou lost his balance for a second and then cleared his throat.

"Me neither."

Jun waited for him to say more but when he didn't she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You take a long time to get a hint, don't you?"

Jyou scratched the back of his head and shrugged, grinning at the fiery girl in front of him.

"I'm sorry...would you like to get lunch with me? I'm on my break so I have an hour."

"I'd love to," Jun said with a bright smile, latching her arm with Jyou's. Jyou quickly examined her, and he had to stop himself from staring at her long legs in her cargo shorts. He also noted that her tight blue tank top complimented her hair nicely.

Jyou led her to the small deli and opened the door for her as she walked in with a wink. Then, they both got their sandwiches made and paid for (by Jyou of course). When they both sat down and started eating their respective sandwiches, Jun looked up and raised a brow.

"So, why didn't you ever call me back after our bar date?" she asked while sticking out her tongue in a way that Jyou could only describe as...surprisingly cute.

"I'm sorry, I've been really busy at the hospital lately and there was a lot going on back at home," he explained truthfully. He actually had been planning to call Jun back but every time he remembered it was late at night, when he got back from the hospital. During his other free time, he was trying to figure what was going on between Sora, Yamato, and Taichi because he was awfully curious.

Jun scoffed, "Barely an excuse."

Jyou smiled before she spoke up again.

"Guess you're going to have to make it up to me," she demanded with a grin. Jyou raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Okay."

Jun sighed and dramatically sat back in her seat, crossing her arms.

"You are terrible at this! Maybe you need some alcohol in you because you were _so _charming at the bar," she exaggerated with a wrinkle of her nose. Jyou pursed his lips and looked down at the table.

"I'm sorry, Jun. I'm not the most suave guy ever...and I had a really tiring shift at the hospital today so I'm a little drained."

"Maybe you just need to find a way to loosen up," she offered, sitting up straighter and clapping her hands mischievously. Jyou looked at her with a scared look; she had gotten over _that_ rather quickly.

"What?"

"You should come exercise with me once a week. I go every Wednesday to release some stress from the previous days, and relax myself for the rest of the week," she explained. Jyou shook his head.

"No, I don't work out..."

Jun looked his body up and down, whatever part she could see, and then looked back at his skinny face.

"You should start."

Jyou glared at the girl for the offensive comment but she just grinned back.

"What do you do that 'stresses' you out so much?"

"I'm in school, actually."

Jyou looked at her incredulously and took a bite out of his sub. She smirked at the look on his face and further explained.

"Well, I dropped out after I studied abroad in America sophomore year. After being in a new country, I was inspired to travel some more so I did that. When I came back, I killed time for two years, got bored, and decided to enroll myself back into college."

Jyou started at her with his mouth slightly open. How could someone just..._do_ that? He thought it was completely absurd. He liked having a plan, having security; what Jun just explained to him was the complete opposite of what he believed in.

"'Killed time' for two years? '_Killed time_?' What does that even mean?"

Jun laughed, taking his reaction very lightly.

"I don't know, going through pointless jobs, um-partying a little bit. Oh, I also got into a lot of outdoor activities."

Jyou sat there stunned.

"How do you pay for your classes? I mean, they're pretty expensive and I highly doubt you saved up enough money in your two years 'killing time,'" Jyou asked rudely. Jun brushed it off and smiled.

"Wow, you're really offended, aren't you?" She asked with a smirk, "My parents actually pay for my classes. Sad, I know, but they were so ecstatic when they found out I wanted to take classes they didn't hesitate to offer me money."

Jyou then remembered that Jun and Daisuke's parents were very wealthy because of their father's noodle company, so they could easily afford to send Jun back to school. Jyou was also surprised at how similar Jun and Daisuke were. Since Daisuke quit his job at the car dealership two days ago, he was a depressed wreck all over again. And he _has_ a degree business, but wasn't doing anything with it.

"I'm not offended, by the way, I'm just shocked."

Jun laughed.

"No, you're offended. Someone like you, who has had stability his whole life and has never done one spontaneous, impulsive thing, would definitely be offended by someone like me."

Jyou scrunched his eyebrows.

"I can be impulsive..."

Who was he kidding. Even if he wanted to be spontaneous, he would unconsciously hate himself and return to his old ways.

"Lies."

For some reason Jyou had the biggest urge to prove her wrong after that statement. Probably to prove to himself that he could...'crazy'.

"Well, I'll have to prove it to you then. So when do you go to the gym?"

Jun smiled, "Wednesdays, at around seven in the morning."

Jyou nodded, knowing that his internship didn't start till eight fifteen on Wednesdays so he could definitely meet up with Jun next Wednesday. He got up to throw out his trash and offered to do the same for Jun's garbage. She smiled and watched him as he walked away from the table and came back.

As both got up to leave and part their separate ways, Jun did something unexpected.

"Hey, Jyou."

"Yeah?"

Jun pulled his arm towards her and planted her lips on top of his. Jyou wasn't quite sure what to do because he was so caught off guard, but he finally closed his eyes and kissed her back, instead of pulling away like he thought he was going to. He even let his tongue caress her lips and Jun opened her eyes, pulling away.

He opened his eyes and looked at her baffled.

"W-What was that for?"

"It was a test," she said with a wink, "And you passed it, by the way. I never would have guessed that you'd kiss me back and slip me your tongue!"

Jyou didn't say anything and kept his mouth shut, turning bright red. He hadn't kissed a girl in so long...

"Seems you can be a little impulsive," and she winked yet again, "Can't wait to see where this goes. See you next week!"

With that, Daisuke's older sister shoved her hands into her cargo shorts and walked away. Jyou stared at her with sheer amazement. Why did she _always_ leave him asking 'what the hell just happened?'

* * *

Koushiro looked at himself in the mirror of his software company's building. He knew he promised himself that he'd go back to how he looked before Miyako's makeover...but he couldn't help but like the way he felt about himself when he wore his newer clothes.

So, with a night's worth of deliberation (and Koushiro was surprised he stayed up almost all night deciding which _clothes_ he wanted to wear), he had decided to stick to his newer clothes. And if he was going to get over his feelings for Mimi he'd have to feel good about himself, right?

Well, his decision worked out for him because yesterday a young woman who worked in his building had asked him out on a date.

That's right..._someone_ had asked Koushiro out. He never thought in a million years that _that_ would ever happen, but it did! Her name was Keiko and she worked on the same floor as he did. She was a pretty girl, not a goddess like Mimi, but she was cute. Koushiro was actually very flattered because she was so nervous when she asked him out.

Koushiro was scared, however, because he'd only had one girlfriend in the past and he rarely took her out on dates, so he asked the one person he knew that he could talk to: Miyako.

It turned out to be quite a mistake because she made a big deal about the whole thing and asked him a billion questions, some of which include: 'Aw! Wait, what happened to Mimi?', 'Aw, is she pretty?', 'Aw, Koushiro you're so cute! Why are you so cute?', 'Aww, I'm so happy for you! Are you scared?'.

In the end, she offered him to double date with Ken and Keiko and Koushiro was very happy to oblige.

Taking one last look in the mirror, he left and went to Keiko's little cubicle. He knocked on the door and opened it when he heard a sweet voice welcome him in.

"Oh, hey, Koushiro. Sorry, I'm almost done..." she stated as she finished up tying on her computer then shutting it off and packing her laptop.

"Don't worry about it," he said courteously. She turned back and smiled at him, showing her perfect white teeth. Koushiro looked her over again. She had very light brown hair...kind of like Mimi's, which she kept short, above her shoulders, where it curved out. She had a lot of freckles, which Koushiro didn't mind, and probably the longest eyelashes he'd ever seen on any girl.

All together, she was cute. Koushiro, again, wasn't going to complain.

"How was your day?" she asked kindly. Koushiro shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"So far, so good."

She chuckled and nodded her head. They both walked out and headed down the stairs to exit the building. As they walked out, Koushiro started walking in the direction they were supposed to and she kept by his side.

"So...where are we eating?" she asked. Koushiro shrugged his shoulders.

"Honestly, I'm not completely sure. My friend Miyako picked out some restaurant that I heard is really good," he explained, feeling guilty. He was so bad at this. He didn't even know where the date was going to occur. She smiled, however, not caring that Koushiro was ill-prepared.

When Koushiro had first mentioned the 'double-date' to Keiko, she didn't mind at all and was excited to meet Koushiro's friends. This made him think...this girl is so into him that she asked him out, agreed to go on a double date as their first date, and doesn't mind that he's socially awkward. Man, this girl must be really into him.

"Koushiro! Over here!"

Both Koushiro and Keiko looked up to see Miyako waving obnoxiously at them, her other hand intertwined with Ken's arm. As they approached the couple, Koushiro smiled and introduced Keiko to both Ken and Miyako.

Koushiro sighed when they both greeted her warmly and smiled. This wasn't going to be as bad as he thought it would be...

* * *

Iori sighed, looking down at his phone and ignoring Akina's call again. Why was she calling him so much? She was the one that didn't return his feelings so why did she care all of a sudden?

Iori's phone started to vibrate again, and after running a few fingers through his short hair, he answered it.

"Why didn't you wait for me today?"

"I haven't waited for you in the past few days, why would I wait for you now?"

"Because it's my birthday..."

Iori's heart sunk and he sat down on his couch, speaking softly so his roommates didn't hear anything if they were home.

"Don't you have plans with your husband?"

"Kei has a business trip tonight...he wont be back till tomorrow morning."

"Well, that's too bad."

He heard Akina sniffle on the other side of phone and it took all of the energy he had to not give in to her.

"I don't want to be alone on my birthday, Iori."

"Well, I don't want to be your last resort."

With that, he hung up his phone and turned it off. That was one of the hardest things he'd ever have to do, but he knew it was necessary. He couldn't be with her even if it was killing him. How could she be so _selfish_?

After sitting for a couple more minutes, the door to his apartment door swung open and a disheveled Daisuke stood at the doorway with a frown.

"Is Takeru here?"

Iori shrugged his shoulders as Daisuke knocked on Takeru's room door, opening it to see if the blond was there. Daisuke sighed as he slumped to the couch and sitting next to Iori.

"What's wrong...?" Iori asked cautiously, raising a brow at Daisuke's behavior.

"Do you think I should just use my business degree to work at Taichi's company? He said that they were hiring for one of their lower positions...it seems to be the best option for me..."

Iori sat back on the couch and sighed.

"Daisuke, I don't know why you're even considering it. You said that you didn't want to work in that field because it wasn't you're passion-"

"Yeah, well I don't really know what my passion is right now. That job at the car dealership was a waste, and there's no way I'm going back to selling noodles for my dad."

Iori bit the insides of his mouth. He couldn't really help Daisuke out right now because he wasn't very good at making good decisions, either.

"I don't know...why don't you just go for the interview and see if you like it...if anything, that job will give you a lot more money, right?"

Daisuke sighed and got up, fixing his sweat pants as he walked out the door.

"I guess so."

With that, Daisuke closed the door and walked back into his apartment. Iori sighed and placed his head in his hands, trying to numb his mind of all thoughts with the best way he knew he could: studying.

* * *

Mimi walked into her empty apartment with a sigh, throwing her keys on the table and heading to her room to change out of her waitress uniform. It had been a long day...

She hardly could wait for the interview she had for the culinary program at the local community college. If she got into that program, she'd be making a lot of progress with fulfilling her dream. Her stomach could hardly stay still at the thought of living out her dream. The only thing holding her back was the money...and since that was the case she had to ask her mother for a loan very quickly.

Mimi's head turned when she heard the door to her room opening and grinned when a very radiant Sora walked in.

"You look like you've had a good day."

Sora smiled and put her folders of paperwork on her dresser. She was wearing a nice business skirt with a bright yellow ruffled top. Her hair framed her face nicely as she moved some out of the way.

"I've had a great day! I helped Kara come up with a couple of designs and she made it seem like she's interested in giving me a higher position."

Sora had been trying to get Mrs. Nakamura's eye for the past two years and it seemed as if she was finally making progress. Mimi thought of the accomplishments both she and her roommate were making and smiled.

Mimi left the room and was about to turn on the TV until she heard a knock on the door. She quickly turned on her heel and opened the door to a very sexy looking Taichi. She blushed and stuttered.

"H-Hey, Taichi."

He flashed her his famous Yagami grin and winked.

"Hey, Meems."

She stood there awkwardly, looking at his chest under his tight button down shirt. He smirked and cleared his throat which caused Mimi to look back up into his chocolate brown eyes.

"Can I come in?"

Mimi flushed even more and opened the door wide open.

"Of course! Sorry..."

He laughed and walked in looking around.

"Is Sora home? She said she got off work early,"

Mimi nodded quickly and coughed a little.

"She's in our room, changing."

Taichi nodded his head and grabbed an apple from the small bowl in the middle of their round dining table. He threw it up in the air once before taking a bite out of it. Mimi stood by the door awkwardly after she closed it. Taichi looked at her peculiarly.

"You okay?"

She nodded and got out of her trance, walking to the dining table and fixing the chairs. Taichi laughed.

"You're so cute when you get shy," he explained as he walked up to her and pushed some loose hair behind her ear. Her heart started to race and she had a sudden urge to press her lips against his. Taichi smiled at her and got closer to her face before speaking.

"I thought we weren't going to get awkward around each other," he stated with a smirk before taking another bite out of his apple. Mimi cleared her throat and blinked, remembering the agreement she and Taichi got to after the incident at the bar.

"I'm not being awkward."

They both stood their for a few seconds, looking at each other until a voice echoed in the room.

"Am I interrupting something?"

They both turned to look at Sora who was smirking knowingly, leaning against the door frame. Both Mimi and Taichi started to speak at the same time, trying to explain what was going but Sora just grinned, using her hands to shield her eyes, and walked backwards into her room again, closing the door.

Mimi blushed and groaned as Taichi nodded his head with a smile. He threw out his apple and walked up to the closed door. He knocked on it and shoved his hands into the pockets of his dress pants.

"I actually came to talk to _you_, Sora."

Sora opened the door and peeked her head through the crack.

"Is it okay to come out?" She asked with a wink. Mimi sighed and sat down on the couch.

"Nothing is happening, Sora!"

Taichi shrugged and smiled, "There, you have your answer."

Sora pouted and walked out, wearing black leggings and a baggy tee-shirt. She was tired of Taichi and Mimi just flirting and wished they'd just make it official already. If not official, she wished they'd at least be honest about how they felt.

"Fine, what do you want to talk about?"

Taichi sighed and pushed her back into her room and Sora stumbled back as he turned to Mimi and winked.

"Don't worry, Meems, I'll be out in a bit. I just need to talk to her alone for a sec," he stated before playfully puckering his lips and closing the door behind him. Mimi blushed and shook her head, trying to numb her mind the only way she knew how: cooking.

Sora cleaned some papers off her bed and sat down, looking at up at her childhood best friend, waiting for him to talk.

"Um...Sora, I've been keeping something from you these past few days..."

She raised her brow, motioning for him to continue. Taichi sat down next to her slowly and turned to look at her.

"Before Yamato left...I told him I'd do something for him..."

Sora sat up straighter, looking at Taichi with a hard look. When she wanted Taichi and Yamato to talk two days ago, she wasn't expecting things to go as well as they did for the two of them. It was ironic because _Taichi_ was the one who was yelling at her for trying to be on 'okay' terms with Yamato.

"Okay, what did you agree to?"

"I agreed to be one of his groomsmen..."

Sora looked at him incredulously and stood up.

"You're his _what_?"

"Look, I know we said we weren't going to his wedding, but I don't know, Sora, I-"

"_You_ were the one telling me to not give in to him and look at what you're doing!"

Taichi sighed and took her hands, pulling her back down so she was sitting.

"I know...I know what I said, but I think it would be really good for us to go...and I can't say that I wasn't flattered when he asked me to be his groomsman. Something in me wanted to do it...for old times sake. And, yeah, I know that there's no way to make things the way they were in the past but I thought that maybe doing him this one favor might make it easier for us to move on."

Sora sat there, staring at the ground, barely breathing.

"Maybe if you see him moving on, _you_ can too..."

Sora glared, resenting his comment...but she knew it was true.

"Come with me...we'll both get through it together, okay?"

She rolled her eyes and fidgeted with her big tee-shirt.

"We'll get everyone to go, Sor, come on. You know it'll be good for you."

Sora thought about for a moment longer and sighed, glaring at Taichi.

"Well, I guess we're all going to a wedding."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: I'm doing amazing with my updates, aren't I? ;) Okay, so this chapter takes place two months later! Enjoy, review, you know the deal.

* * *

Miyako groaned, sitting on her suitcase with a huff, trying to make it close. Maybe she had packed too many things for Yamato's wedding...it was just one weekend. Miyako then shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. No, she _needed_ these things. On the invitation, it said that Miyako was allowed to bring a date and she obviously asked Ken to come with her since they had been going out for three months now.

Three months. _Three._ She couldn't lie to herself and say she wasn't astounded...she was completely in shock that she and Ken were still seeing each other. She had never met a man so generous, kind, hot, and sweet. How and when did she get so lucky? Her past relationships had only lasted a couple of weeks, a month at max, and all the guys ended up breaking her heart. She was now used to heartache...but Ken was different. He accepted her for who she was and loved everything that she hated about herself.

Hikari walked into their room and grinned at the lavender-haired girl.

"Miyako, this isn't _your_ wedding."

"I know! I just want this weekend to be perfect," she stated with a pout. Hikari laughed and shook her head, lifting up her own stuffed suitcase and setting it near the door. Takeru had left a couple hours ago to help Yamato get prepared, considering that he's Yamato's best man. A part of Hikari was very excited to spend a romantic weekend with Takeru as well, but knew it would be tough because no one knew they were together.

"You know, when Taichi and Sora first told us that we all should attend Yamato's wedding, I was hesitant...but now I'm so excited, I wanna leave right now!" Miyako exclaimed, bouncing on her suitcase until she heard a 'click' and got up satisfied.

"Yeah, I think all of us were thrown for a loop when they first told us, but now a lot of us are excited to just get away for a weekend. I know Jyou's excited to get out of the hospital for a weekend," Hikari explained. Then another thought entered her mind and she suddenly felt really guilty. Sora was the only one that still wasn't ready or comfortable about attending the wedding.

When she and Taichi first told the group, Taichi did most of the talking and Sora stood behind him, nodding along. It seemed as if she was still trying to convince herself that attending the wedding would be able to help her...

Miyako felt the change in mood and knew what Hikari was thinking about.

"Is she alright?"

Hikari sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"She's not really talking, she's just walking around like a zombie."

Miyako left her room with Hikari following behind her. When they walked into Mimi and Sora's room, Miyako had to stifle a laugh at the sight of Mimi holding up four dresses while Sora laid on her bed, her head dangling off the edge as she read a fashion magazine upside-down.

"Sora! Come on, you have to pick out two more dresses! You are not going naked to the rehearsal dinner _and_ the reception."

"Well, I don't really care about how I look at those two events. All that matters is that I look amazing during the ceremony so Yamato might glance over and-"

"-and _what_ Sora? Bring you up to the alter instead?"

Sora glared at Mimi before looking back at her magazine.

"No...so he might glance over and regret leaving me," she retorted nonchalantly. Mimi groaned and dropped the dresses, putting her hands on her hips.

"You're impossible."

"Sora, come on, you're supposed to be trying to get over him at his wedding, not trying to win him back," Miyako explained as she walked in and looked at the dresses that Mimi had in her hands moments before. Hikari nodded and agreed.

"I'm not trying to win him back," she spat, sitting upright and putting down her magazine, "It's not wrong for me to want him to suffer, you know."

The three other girls looked at each other and agreed with Sora's statement.

"Well, in _that_ case, you should look amazing at everything: the rehearsal dinner, the ceremony, and the reception," Hikari said with a sly smile. Sora shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms.

"Here," Miyako said while holding up a plum dress with a conservatively plunging neckline, "wear this at the rehearsal dinner. It's classy, the color looks great on you, and it's a great way to start off with a 'bang.'"

Sora sighed and looked at her three best friends.

"Look, you guys obviously got this under control, so I'm just gonna take a walk. Sorry..."

With that, all the girls watched Sora walk out of the room. Mimi sighed and sat down, looking at the plum colored dress that Miyako picked out.

"Guys, I don't think anything is going to make her happy or comfortable with this, so let's just try to find her looks that will make her feel great about herself," Mimi suggested to the two younger women. Hikari nodded her head with a smile as Miyako chuckled.

"Isn't she the fashion designer?"

* * *

A couple of hours passed and Sora had come back to the apartment, deciding to work on a few designs and forms that needed to be done. As Sora sat in her room, Mimi decided to leave her alone and propped herself on the couch to watch some TV. She felt a little bit neglected because everyone was going to the wedding except for her.

Sure, she could have easily just gone along as someone's date-preferably Taichi's- but she didn't want to go to a wedding she wasn't invited to...

Mimi bit her lip and moaned, hitting her head with her hand. Who was she kidding, she wanted to go, but was just waiting for Taichi to ask her to be his date...which he _never_ did.

Out of humility, Mimi decided that she would just stay back. She had some things she wanted to do since everyone would be gone anyway. Recently, Michael had sent her an email stating that he really wanted to meet up with her and talk. Considering that everyone would be at Yamato's wedding, Mimi replied back to Michael, telling him to meet up with her in two days. She wasn't as nervous as she thought she was going to be. If anything, she was ready to face Michael and tell him off...

"I'm almost scared to ask you what you're thinking about because you look a little bit angry."

Mimi looked to her right and saw Koushiro standing with his hands shoved into his pockets. Mimi smiled as he sat down and hit her head against the couch softly.

"It's nothing...I just don't feel like staying here by myself," she explained. Koushiro glanced at her and shrugged.

"I could always stay back with you, Mimi, I don't mind."

"No! Don't worry about me, Koushiro, I wouldn't let you stay anyway," she stated with a smile. Koushiro nodded his head and looked at the television. Yes, he'd gone on a couple more dates with Keiko, the girl from his work, but he didn't see himself committed to her at all. At the same time, however, his feelings for Mimi were slowly diminishing as he saw how close Taichi and Mimi were getting.

In the past two months, Taichi and Mimi have done nothing but flirt nonstop, mostly on Taichi's part. Mimi had even stayed over late at their apartment, but not in Taichi's room. One time, Koushiro woke up to see that Mimi and Taichi had fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie. They didn't look as if they had been _physical_ but they did look very comfortable. That's the word, they looked very _comfortable_ around each other, and it actually helped Koushiro get over her much faster than he thought it would.

"Well, don't hesitate to ask. I'm not too excited to go, anyway, it'll probably be terribly boring."

Mimi chuckled and sighed.

"How's Taichi holding up?"

"He's okay, he's actually not bad at all. He's been focusing a lot on some assignments his boss gave him so I doubt he's been thinking too much about Yamato and the wedding."

Mimi nodded and glanced at her room door.

"Wish I could say the same about Sora..."

Koushiro looked at Mimi worriedly and also looked towards the door.

"Well, I can't blame her. She has a lot of courage to go through this..."

"Yeah..." Mimi smiled because it was actually Sora's strength and courage that inspired Mimi to face Michael head on.

Hikari walked out of her room holding some third grade book reports in her hands that she wanted to finish grading for tomorrow. She smiled sweetly at Koushiro.

"Oh, hey Koushiro, what brings you here?"

"Oh yeah, um, Daisuke's a real mess and wont pack so I was wondering if one of you could try to persuade him to cheer up," he explained. Mimi groaned and shook her head.

"Look, I love Daisuke and all, but if I have to keep seeing him mope around I might smack him."

Hikari laughed and dropped her book reports on the small coffee table in front of the couch.

"It's okay, let me try talking to him."

Koushiro smiled and wished her good luck as she headed towards his apartment.

Hikari realized the door to Taichi, Koushiro, and Daisuke's apartment was open so she slowly walked in and looked around. Daisuke was lying on the couch, watching TV with all the lights off and staring emotionlessly at the screen.

Hikari rolled her eyes and turned all the lights on which caused Daisuke moan in annoyance.

"Oh, quiet complaining. You've been sulking around for two months now, I think it's time for you to clean yourself up and get your act together."

Daisuke didn't respond, grabbing a fistful of popcorn and shoving it in his face. Hikari sighed and walked over the mess around the couch and turned off the TV.

"Hey!"

She smiled and stood in front of him, placing her hands gingerly on her hips.

"Am I going to have to drag you off this couch."

Daisuke pouted cutely and nodded his head. Hikari rolled her eyes and made him sit up on the couch.

"Come on, Daisuke, what's going on? I've known you since middle school and I've never seen you like this."

"It's nothing, Hikari," he stated solemnly. She smiled and rolled her eyes again.

"Do you really think I'm going to take that for an answer?"

Daisuke glanced at her and chuckled, shaking his head.

"I guess I'm starting to realize that I have to grow up...and I don't want to."

Hikari saw his jaw clench and she put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly.

"Brooding on your couch all day isn't going to stop you from growing up."

"I know...but it makes time feel really slow," he said with a small grin. Hikari laughed, she always loved his grin. It knew how to light up a room in an instance. There was a small silence and Daisuke slumped his shoulders.

"Why am I the only one left behind?"

"What do you mean?"

"You all know exactly where you're going in life...why am I stuck exactly where I have been since I've graduated?"

Hikari bit her lip and then answered, "I don't know, Daisuke."

A silence enveloped the two friends and Hikari couldn't help but feel bad. She had been attracted to Daisuke at one point, a long time ago. She was attracted to his free spirit and care-free attitude. But all those feelings had left when she realized that Daisuke was too immature. Maybe he was finally realizing his immaturity, as well.

Then an idea came to her.

"Daisuke, maybe you just need to enhance your degree."

Daisuke scoffed and crossed his arms.

"I am _not_ taking anymore classes. I'm too old now!"

"Actually, you're not. Twenty-three is still very young! Come on, what's the _one_ thing you've loved your entire life?"

Daisuke rolled his eyes and smirked, trying to humor Hikari.

"You."

Hikari's stomach churned...she wasn't expecting her body to react that way. She quickly brushed it off and nudged Daisuke.

"No, seriously."

"Um...I don't know, girls in general?"

Hikari sighed. She should've known better than to think that Daisuke had always loved her; he was a man-whore almost on Taichi's level. Not that she cared that he might have loved her anyway...she had Takeru...

"Sports, Daisuke."

His eyes lit up and he nodded his head, waiting for Hikari to continue.

"And there's a lot of things you can do with your love of sports like...sports management. That combines your business degree and love of sports," she explained with a smile. Daisuke thought about it for a couple of minutes and then just sat there in shock. It took Hikari two minutes to come up with an idea Daisuke had been moping around about for two months.

"You are amazing, Hikari Yagami," he beamed as he crushed her in an embrace. Hikari laughed and hugged him back, leaning her head against his shoulder. She pulled away and ruffled some of his hair.

"_And_ there's actually an opening at my school. They're looking for a new gym teacher, so if you want to make some money while you take more classes, I can put in a good word for you with the principal," she offered with a grin that looked just like Taichi's. Daisuke thought about it for a second and shrugged his shoulders.

"Doesn't seem like a bad idea...don't know how I feel about dealing with sugar-high elementary kids, though."

Hikari laughed again, waved her hand, "Trust me, you'll get used to them fast."

Daisuke smiled and just stared at the young woman in front of him.

"Thanks a lot, Hikari. I'm glad you came to talk to me, we don't talk like we used to."

"I know...I'll make it a habit to come see you more often. I can't let you get depressed anymore, can I? And, besides, if you become the new gym teacher, I'll see you all the time," she stated with a sweet smile. Daisuke laughed and nodded his head.

"Now stop moping around and start packing. We have a wedding to go to in two days," Hikari ordered.

He smiled and let out a deep breath.

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

Both Miyako and Mimi looked up from the couch when they saw Sora slam her room door and run her fingers through her hair.

"I'm not going. I can't."

The other two girls stared in shock for a few minutes before getting up. Miyako spoke up first.

"Wait, what? What do you mean you're not going?"

"I _can't_. I can't see him get married to her, it'll kill me."

Mimi walked over to her best friend and held onto her shoulders.

"Look, Sora, you can _do_ this. I know you can."

Sora shook her head, pushing Mimi's hands off of her and heading towards the main door. Miyako and Mimi looked at each other before running ahead of Sora and blocking her way. The auburn haired girl glared at them.

"Please move."

"No, you're not leaving, Sora. Talk to us, we can help you-" Miyako started but Sora quickly interjected.

"You can't help me, you guys don't understand."

Mimi glared and crossed her arms at her chest as Miyako spoke again.

"Sora, you're talking to the girl who hasn't had a real relationship up until now. I've had my heart broken plenty of times, trust me."

"Yeah, you don't think _we_ understand? You're talking to the girl who got knocked up and kicked out of her house. Don't think you're the only one that's been rejected around here."

Miyako looked incredlously at Mimi from the corner of her eye but Mimi nudged her; right now wasn't the time to explain her life because, right now, they had to help Sora find the strength that they all knew was inside of her.

Sora kept quiet, obviously being shot down by both of their remarks. Mimi softened her stiff pose and brought her hand to Sora's, holding on to it.

"You're not alone, okay? Now, I wouldn't force you to go if I knew it wasn't good for you...but, Sora, you need this. You need this closure."

Miyako nodded and grabbed Sora's other hand.

"I'll be there with you the whole time, Sora, I don't even care that Ken's coming anymore...I just want to make sure you're okay."

Hikari had walked in and none of them noticed, but she closed the door and walked up to her three roommates, looking at Sora with a sullen smile.

"For as long as I've known you, Sora, you've always shown me that girls can be strong. Don't let Yamato haunt your life anymore...he's not worth it."

Sora pulled her hands away from Miyako and Mimi to bring them up to her face. She tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn't. All three girls enveloped Sora in an embrace as she cried and didn't let go.

"I don't know what I'd do without you guys..."


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Next Chapter. Not thoroughly happy with it but, let me know what you think! REVIEW!

* * *

"Holy...shit."

No one said anything in response to Daisuke's comment as the whole gang looked in shock at the huge hotel that the wedding was going to take place in. It was the biggest and most extravagant building that any of them had ever seen.

"Yamato's getting married _here_," Daisuke asked rhetorically as he scanned the modern building. It looked like a glass palace. Taichi rolled his eyes at all his friends and walked ahead, turning to look at them.

"Guys, Yamato's a 'rockstar.' Of course he would have a wedding here."

Everyone sniggered at Taichi's sarcastic remark but Sora. She really wanted to turn around and go home. This was a mistake. The hotel was absolutely gorgeous and it was a beautiful day for a wedding. Why did everything have to be so perfect? She was hoping that the wedding was going to be horrible.

They all walked into the hotel and were greeted by a very excited Takeru, who quickly walked over to his friends and greeted them.

"Hey, guys! Isn't this so exciting?"

Jyou, Koushiro, Iori, Hikari and Ken all nodded and greeted Takeru brightly while Taichi, Sora, Miyako, and Daisuke looked at each other uncomfortably. Half of the group was obviously more excited about the grandeur of the event than the other half.

"Alright, well you guys can just sign in at the front desk, all your rooms are taken care of. Yamato picked everything out himself," Takeru explained with a grin before walking over to Hikari and giving her a hug which Hikari awkwardly stepped away from because she didn't want everyone to get suspicious. Takeru gave her a look and then sighed.

Most of the guys in the group followed Taichi up to the front desk to find out where they would be staying. The hotel worker at the front desk explained that the maid of honor, best man, bridesmaids, and groomsmen all got their own rooms, courtesy of Yamato and Hitomi. That meant that both Takeru and Taichi had their own hotel rooms. Hikari, Miyako, and Sora all shared one room, Daisuke and Koushiro shared another room, and Iori and Jyou shared the last one. Since Takeru had a huge room to himself and was good friends with Ken, he didn't mind sharing his room with Ken. So after everything was settled, everyone got on the big glass elevator and made their way to their rooms.

Sora threw her suitcase on her bed as Hikari and Miyako walked into their room behind her. The two younger girls gave each other a look and then turned back to their auburn-haired friend.

"You okay, Sora? You seem a little...on edge," Miyako asked. Sora turned to look at her and shrugged her shoulders. She was hating all of this. This should be _her_ wedding...not that home-wrecker Hitomi's wedding. Sora sighed, fixed her messy pony tail, and sat down on her bed in the big room. They got the corner room on their floor because it was big enough to fit three people.

"I'm just going to nap for a bit, guys. Don't worry about me," she stated as she laid down and turned her back to the other two girls. Hikari looked at Sora worriedly. She really hoped that Sora would be okay this whole weekend.

"So, do you want to go shop? I saw a big mall right next to the hotel not too far away," Hikari asked Miyako. Miyako grinned and nodded her head.

"Let's get Ken to come with us!"

Hikari didn't argue with that. Since Ken and Takeru lived in the same room, she could convince Takeru too come, as well. If he wasn't busy, of course.

* * *

Jyou sighed with a smile and fell onto his bed.

"It feels so amazing to relax, Iori. No work for three days, it's exciting."

Iori smiled at his close friend and also sat down on his own bed.

"Tell me about it. My classes are draining me out. I'm glad to get away for a few days," he explained with exhaustion. Both young men sighed and were about to peacefully fall asleep until there was a knock on the door. Koushiro popped his head in and grinned.

"Enjoying yourselves?"

Jyou and Iori both smiled at the red head and nodded. Koushiro laughed and closed the door as he walked into the room.

"So, Koushiro, how's Keiko?"

Koushiro sighed and blushed a little at Jyou's question.

"S-She's good."

Jyou opened his eyes and smiled at the red-head.

"You guys have been going on dates for a while now...is it serious?"

"I don't know..."

Iori and Jyou both looked at each other and smirked. The three of them have always considered themselves shy, but Koushiro was definitely the shyest.

"Why don't you ask her to be your girlfriend?" Jyou pressed. Koushiro sighed and sat down on Iori's bed.

"I don't know...she's sweet and all, but I don't want a relationship with her yet."

"Come on, Koushiro-"

"Jyou, just leave it," Koushiro interrupted with a smirk, "How's Jun?"

Jyou instantly shut up and glared at Iori.

"You told him?"

Iori smiled and put his hands behind his head.

"I didn't know I was supposed to keep it a secret."

Jyou groaned and rubbed his eyes under his glasses.

"So, how have your weekly meetings at the gym with Jun gone?" Koushiro asked with a grin, loving his payback.

Jyou blushed and shrugged his shoulders.

"They're fine."

"Have you guys kissed again?"

"Iori how much did you tell him?"

Iori chuckled and sat up and gave Jyou a playful look.

"Again, you didn't tell me not to tell anyone."

Jyou glared at both of them and rolled his eyes.

"Stop ganging up on me. You two aren't so innocent either," Jyou stated with a pause to look at Koushiro, "You're leading that Keiko girl on, and Iori, you're definitely seeing someone and not telling any of us."

Koushiro sighed and put his hands up.

"Sorry, Jyou, no need to attack us!"

"Yeah, and I'm not seeing anyone," Iori stated truthfully. He'd completely ended things with Akina. Jyou sighed and turned the other way on his bed, his back facing his two friends. Iori and Koushiro gave each other a look and tried to hold back a laugh.

* * *

Mimi had never heard her heart beat this loud before. She wasn't expecting to be this nervous...the confidence that she had in the past few days was slowly disappearing. How should she act when she sees Michael's face for the first time in over a year? Should she be cruel and not even show an ounce of kindness, or should she be a little open to show that she's done with him and has moved on?

Mimi groaned and shoved her head into her hands. She really wished that her roommates were with her right now because being alone in the apartment at this moment was just too much to bare. Everyone had cleared out of the building early in the morning to catch the train to Yamato's wedding.

She looked at the clock in her living room and sat back on the couch. Time had moved way too slow, but now it was time to leave. She walked back into her room one more time to make sure she still looked amazing. She was wearing skinny jeans with a light pink camisole and her favorite white cardigan. Her hair was down and straightened so she looked something out of one of Sora's fashion magazines. With her black pumps, Mimi looked ready to blow Michael out of the water.

"Here goes nothing..." she mumbled under her breath before grabbing her purse and heading out of the apartment. She caught a cab outside and recited the address to her destination to the cab driver. She was meeting Michael at their old favorite outlet mall near her old house. They'd used to go on all their dates there, back in the day. Mimi sighed, trying to hold back her nostalgic feeling as she looked out the window.

She didn't know how she should be feeling. She wasn't even sure if her feelings for Michael we're completely gone, even though they should be. He seemed awfully sweet in the email he sent her but she promised herself that she wasn't going to fall for any of his antics today. She was just going to listen to what he had to say and try to be as mature as possible...

After a while, the cab driver stopped where he was told and Mimi paid him before he drove off. She walked further into the outlet mall and her breath caught. It was exactly how she remembered it...it was as if nothing had changed in one year. But a lot had changed...

She walked towards her and Michael's old favorite little restaurant and her heart completely stopped when she saw him sitting at one of the tables outside, the umbrella shielding the autumn sun. His hair was wavy and above his shoulders, just like she remembered it. She could see his light blue eyes searching the crowd, and they looked just like she remembered them. He was wearing a green plaid shirt with light jeans; his preppy style just like she remembered it.

Everything about him was the same...but, yet, everything was so different.

Finally, their eyes caught each other and Mimi's throat clenched. Michael stood up slowly and smiled, not doing anything, just staring at her. Mimi let out a deep breath and marched her way over to the table her ex-boyfriend was sitting at. She roughly dropped her purse on the table and sat down.

"Hello, Michael."

He just sat there, smiling at her and reaching his hand out to hold hers, but she moved it away. He looked in her eyes and sat back, shaking his head at the brunette.

"I'm so glad you answered my email."

Mimi gave a mocking smile and waved for the waitress to come over. After ordering a nice, strong margarita, she looked back at Michael and tried to ignore the way he was looking at her; the way he always used to look at her.

There was a silence between the two before Mimi cleared her throat, crossing her arms at her chest.

"So, why'd you wanna meet me?"

Michael shifted in his seat and concentrated on Mimi's face.

"I'm clean now, Mimi. I'm completely sober...I'm in rehab."

The waitress brought Mimi her drink as Michael spoke and she took a sip of it before rolling her eyes.

"Congratulations."

He sighed and gave her another sweet smile. He really needed to stop doing that.

"I want to make things right between us, again," he stated lightly. Mimi widened her eyes mockingly and smirked.

"It's not that easy. You think that just because you don't smoke pot anymore and feel sorry means that everything is going to go back to how it was? You're still an idiot, then" she explained, sipping more of her drink. Michael's smile faltered and he bit his lip.

"Mimi, I spent _months_ searching for you. That's got to mean something-"

"It means nothing to me."

She held her ground and gave Michael a hard look. How _dare_ he try to take her back. After everything he did, he still didn't realize how terribly he had hurt her. Michael clenched his jaw and ran a few fingers through his golden hair.

"I want to see her...or him."

Mimi's heart stopped and she looked him straight in the eye, knowing what he meant. At that second, Mimi's mind raced and she thought of her past relationship with Michael. She remembered how much fun he was and how crazy she was about him. She remembered the night they went behind her parents backs...the night that changed her life forever.

"Well, you can't..."

Michael's eyes flared at this and he suddenly became a little angry.

"Why not? I'm the father, I have every right to see my-"

"Stop."

"He or she is my child too, I want to be a part of his or her life-"

"Michael, stop."

"It's not fair, I don't want to miss out on his or her life anymore-"

"_Michael_."

The blond stopped his rant and quickly became concerned when he saw Mimi's eyes tear up. She bit her lip and looked away, letting the tears just roll down. There was never a single day that passed where she didn't think about the child she once bore. There was never a single day that passed where she didn't want to hurt Michael and her parents for what they had done...where she didn't _hate_ herself for what she had done.

"There is no child, Michael..."

He sat there stunned, gaping at Mimi. There was a terrible silence until he spoke up quietly.

"Y-You aborted the pregnancy?"

Mimi didn't say anything and chugged more of her drink, letting the alcohol burn her throat on it's way down. Michael didn't say anything more, staring at the table with an expression that Mimi couldn't read. It actually made her very angry.

"Why are you getting so upset over it," Mimi spat, rubbing her face to get rid of the tears, "the reason I had to terminate the pregnancy was because you didn't take me in when my parents kicked me out. How was I supposed to raise and support a baby all on my own?"

Michael didn't say anything and Mimi chuckled sarcastically.

"You're a too late. If you cared a year ago, our baby would be with us right now."

Michael looked up and Mimi was surprised to see tears welling up in Michael's clear blue eyes. She'd never seen Michael cry before...

"I always just screw everything up, don't I?" he stopped to laugh at himself, "Sorry, I don't know why I'm crying. I guess I was just so excited for something that wasn't even real..."

Mimi's heart heart fell at his words. It was _his_ fault...it was all his fault.

"It took me a year to realize how bad I ruined everything...and that all I wanted was to clean myself up and be there for you and our baby..._my_ baby."

Mimi scoffed and looked down at her hands.

"You left me to fend for myself. You ditched me as soon as you found out I was pregnant. What kind of man does that, huh?"

"I'm _sorry_, Mimi. Do you think my parents would have welcomed you in with open arms? Of course I couldn't let you stay with me-"

"Yeah, well you didn't even _bother_ to make it seem like you cared."

"I always cared."

"Don't lie to me. I spent a year accepting the fact that you didn't think twice when you closed your door. Don't-"

"I was an idiot, Mimi. At the time, I was being selfish. I'd already let my parents down so many times, I couldn't let them find out...but after you left town, I couldn't let myself forget you. I couldn't let myself forget everything...forget our baby."

Michael got up and walked over to the woman who he let down one year ago. He turned Mimi's chair to the side, kneeled down in front of her, and touched her face lightly, smiling at her undeniable beauty. Mimi was surprised that she let him even get that close to her.

"Even in the darkest moments of my life, you were that one light that made everything worth while. You knew how to make me smile, and even when no one else believed in me, you did. I was a such an idiot to let you go."

Mimi stared into his eyes and couldn't help but feel nostalgic. The only difference was that she was so much happier with the life she was living now. The same motivation she gave Michael was the motivation that helped her change her old lifestyle. Michael was a part of her past now...

"Look...I'm not sorry that our relationship is done," she paused to take his hand off her cheek, "I'm not sorry that it's is over...but I'm sorry for the way we let it end."

He shook his head, about to speak, but Mimi put two fingers on his lips to shush him.

"We made our mistakes, and it took me a year to realize it, but I was dumb for thinking that we could ever work out. And, yeah, I'm upset that you closed your door on me that day...but I'm also grateful that you did because I wouldn't be who I am right now if you hadn't."

Michael looked at the ground and Mimi brought his face to look at hers again.

"I can't hate you, Michael," she stated as tears fogged her vision, "I could never hate you, no matter how hard I try, but I'll never forgive you for what your actions made me do."

Michael brought his forehead to hers and Mimi cried softly.

"I don't think I'll ever forgive myself..."

When her cries calmed down, Michael brought Mimi in for an embrace and she reluctantly hugged back. He pulled away and wiped the excess tears from Mimi's face.

"So, you've really made a new start for yourself, haven't you?" he asked with a smile. Mimi nodded and, for once, returned the smile.

"You'd be surprised how different I am."

Michael shook his head, "No, you're still that bright, bubbly girl that I remember. The only thing different is that, now, you're not my bright and bubbly girl."

Mimi chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, yeah that's true," she joked. Michael shoved her lightly and laughed.

"It was great seeing you, Mimi...hopefully we can keep in touch."

Mimi took in a deep breath and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Good-bye, Michael."

With that, she grabbed her purse and stood up, leaving the table. As she walked away, she felt empowered. She hadn't realized how proud of herself she was. She really turned her whole life around and was finally on the right track.

She smiled as she thought of something. Since she was on a new path, she wasn't going to make the same mistakes. She wasn't going to let her life just fly by, she was going to start taking initiative. The first thing on Mimi's list:

To make Taichi Yagami hers.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Things start heating up! Review please :)

* * *

Miyako grinned as she made the finishing touches on her make-up. When she and Hikari went shopping with Ken and Takeru, she found a new dress that she just _had_ to buy it...and Ken was her knight and shining armor and got it for her to wear tonight. It was a navy dress with small ruffled flowers on the neck-line. Her hair was put up in an elegant bun and had a few strands fall out and frame her face. Ken was going to die when he saw her, she just knew it.

She looked to her right and squealed at Hikari, who was wearing a gold A-line dress with a high waist, and her hair pin straight.

"I'm so excited, we never get a chance to get this dressed up!"

Hikari laughed and finished getting ready.

"Yeah, I like this. I feel so mature attending a wedding _without_ my parents," she explained with a wink to her friend. The two of them walked out of the bathroom and gawked when they saw Sora.

Sora looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. The plum dress that her roommates had picked out looked killer on her. It had sleeves that went half way and a v-neck that didn't plunge too deep. It hugged all the curves of her body and stopped right above her knees. She curled her hair a little bit so it looked flawless and graceful, and did her make up conservatively with a slight smokey eye. If she didn't make a statement with this look, then nothing would.

"Sora, you look amazing!" Miyako exclaimed as she ran over to her and fawned. Hikari grinned and walked over to Sora, fixing some curls that were out of place. Sora smiled softly and nodded.

"Thanks so much, you guys. I really wouldn't be able to do this without you two..." Sora stated with a sullen smile. Miyako and Hikari both crushed Sora in a hug and she laughed at the two younger girls.

There was a knock at the door and Miyako quickly went to open it. She grinned and hugged Ken when she saw him on the other side.

"You look gorgeous," he stated before giving her a peck on the lips. She smiled and waved at Takeru who was standing behind Ken. She motioned for both of them to come in. Takeru walked up to Hikari and squeezed her hand secretly which made her blush and smile at her secret boyfriend.

"Sora, you look great!" Takeru exclaimed before pulling the older girl into an embrace. Sora smiled timidly and sighed after she thanked him.

"Guys, we should go, otherwise we'll be late for the rehearsal dinner," Ken spoke up and everyone in the room nodded with agreement. The five of them exited the hotel room and let the door close behind them. Sora stopped and groaned.

"Guys, I forgot my key," she stated. She was just a nervous wreck at the moment and she wasn't thinking straight. Miyako waved it off and smiled.

"Don't worry, Sora, Hikari and I both have our keys so it wont be a problem."

Sora sighed and followed the four people in front of her. She wished Mimi had come...even though she was so grateful that Hikari and Miyako were there, Mimi just always understood her and knew how to make her feel better.

On their way to the elevator, they bumped into Iori, Jyou, and Daisuke, and everyone said their greetings to each other.

"Damn, you ladies look good!" Daisuke explained as he crushed all three of them in a cute hug. All the girls laughed and pushed him away which caused Daisuke to pout. The crowd made their way to the elevator, excitement buzzing through everyone...but Sora.

Sora sighed and closed her eyes as she settled herself into the elevator and the doors closed. There was no turning back now.

* * *

Taichi sighed and fastened his tie as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"I don't know why but, all of a sudden, I don't wanna go downstairs. Was I an idiot to agree to all this?"

Koushiro looked up at his best friend and shook his head, straightening out his suit as he sat on Taichi's big bed. The room that Taichi had all to himself was spectacular, it had a queen sized bed in the middle of the room with small, fancy, chairs laid out all around the room.

"You weren't an idiot, Taichi. Maybe you just weren't as ready as you thought to take on such a big responsibility for someone who hadn't communicated with you for three years."

Taichi clenched his jaw and nodded. He had spent the whole day with Yamato, just talking and running a couple of last minute errands. After a while, Taichi started to wonder why he was doing _anything_ for Yamato. He didn't deserve any of it.

Koushiro noticed Taichi's conflicting silence and got up to put a hand on Taichi's shoulder.

"You never really make the wrong decision, Taichi. Just trust yourself and go down there and have a good time," Koushiro explained with a smile. Taichi chuckled and gave Koushiro a thankful look.

Both men exited Taichi's room and head towards the elevator and made their way downstairs. The rehearsal dinner was going to be held in one of the smaller banquet halls at the gigantic hotel. Nonetheless, the room was exotic and beautiful.

It was a very vintage feel with low lights and faded colors. It looked like something out of medieval times...and it was _just_ the rehearsal dinner. Taichi and Koushiro walked into the room and were greeted by the betrothed couple standing by the big doors.

Yamato was dressed in a very expensive looking tux, his blond hair shaped perfectly. He looked radiant, and Taichi couldn't help but smile at how happy he looked. Hitomi Aikawa was probably one of the most gorgeous girls that either Koushiro or Taichi had ever seen. She had long flowing chocolate brown hair that was curled flawlessly. Her face looked stunning, and her body and curves really stood out in the red dress she was wearing.

Yamato went to hug both of the men and he gave a smile to Taichi.

"Glad to see you, man."

Taichi smirked, "I know."

Hitomi smiled at both of them before introducing herself.

"Hi, I'm Hitomi. It's great to finally meet you guys. Especially you, Taichi, Yamato always talks about you," she explained sweetly. Taichi grinned, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm not surprised."

As Yamato and Hitomi stayed at the door to greet all their guests, Taichi and Koushiro made their way over to the two tables that their friends were situated at.

* * *

Takeru smiled at the girl next to him. She looked beautiful and all he wanted to do was put his arm around her and show her off. Hikari could feel him staring at her and turned to her secret boyfriend.

"What?" she asked slyly. Takeru shrugged his shoulders and looked at the table. Hikari smiled and secretly held onto one of his hands and he squeezed it back comfortingly. After a while, Miyako and Ken left the table to talk to another couple, Daisuke left the table to talk to one of the bridesmaids that was giving him flirtatious looks, and Iori left the table to hang out with Koushiro.

Hikari smiled, they were finally alone to talk.

"Isn't this all surreal?" she asked Takeru. Takeru chuckled and sighed.

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing," he stated before looking into her eyes and grinning. Hikari blushed and coughed.

"It's weird that Yamato's getting married, right? We're all so grown up," she stated with a smile. Takeru rolled his eyes.

"Well, we aren't in high school anymore, Hikari," he said with a laugh. Hikari punched his shoulder before looking around adoringly at the venue and taking a sip of her water.

"This room is so amazing," she stated.

"Yeah, I hope we can find a place like this for our-" Hikari choked on her water while Takeru cut himself off, looking at Hikari with blush.

"O-Our what?" she asked, her eyes wide. Takeru chuckled nervously as Hikari continued, "You think about that stuff?"

"Of course I think about that stuff, we've been going out for seven months now."

Hikari stared at him for a couple seconds, not knowing what to say. Takeru sighed and clenched his jaw, looking in the other direction. For some reason, Hikari wasn't as disheartened as she thought she would be...she was actually excited.

"What else do you think about?"

Takeru turned back and looked at her incredulously.

"U-Uh, I don't know..."

Hikari looked down with disappointment. Maybe it was being at someone else's wedding that was getting her excited about her own future. Takeru quickly took both her hands and looked into her eyes.

"Well...I imagine us to have a small wedding, nothing too big or fancy like this. We'll move out of our apartments and into a small house somewhere in the suburbs with a pool in the back and a porch in the front...I was thinking of getting a dog-"

"Aw, I like cats," Hikari said with a pout. Takeru laughed and moved some of her straight hair behind her ear.

"Okay, we'll get a cat. I also imagined that we'd have two kids, one girl and one boy. To make it interesting, I imagine the girl to be like me and the boy to be like you," he stopped to give her a wink. Hikari laughed and looked at him lovingly.

"That's so...great, Takeru," she stopped to look into his eyes, actually feeling so comfortable and excited. She smiled and shook her head. "I hope all of that happens for us."

"I _know_ it will happen for us. I've never felt this close or comfortable with any other girl before, Hikari. I love you..."

Hikari's throat caught. They've never really told each other that they loved each other...it was always just a given thing, but today, it just felt epic and _right_.

"I love you, too."

It was the perfect moment for a kiss...but both of them knew they couldn't, not in front of everyone. They both forgot _why_ they were keeping their relationship a secret because they'd been doing it for seven months now, so they just stared into each others eyes and smiled.

* * *

Sora sighed, sitting at the bar, sipping her drink slowly. This whole thing was disgusting. The whole room was just so beautiful, it was disgusting. Hitomi was so _gorgeous_, it was disgusting. Of course Yamato would leave her for Hitomi, which guy wouldn't? Hitomi had a stunning face, a perfect body, and all the right curves in all the right places. She looked like a movie star.

Sora took another sip of her strong drink and cringed.

Why did she ever think that she'd catch Yamato's eye again? She was an idiot to think that she'd be able to compare to Hitomi. It was like comparing an icicle to an ice sculpture. She tried hard to keep back her tears and just drank as much as she could, ordering another drink.

"I hope you're not bored."

Sora's heart stopped at the smooth and sultry sound of Yamato's voice. She turned and her heart sank to the floor at the sight of Yamato holding onto Hitomi's hand. The sexy brunette smiled at Sora and she awkwardly returned it.

"N-No, I'm not bored."

Yamato chuckled and gave his bride a look which she smiled to and walked away. Sora watched her leave with a slight anger. Why was she so perfect? Yamato sat down on the stool next to Sora's at the bar looked over at her.

"I'm so happy you're here, Sora. You have no idea how much it means to me," he stated, ordering himself a drink. Sora watched him and blushed, running some fingers through her perfectly curled hair.

"Well, it was always about your happiness, wasn't it, Yamato?" she asked as she swirled the straw in her cup, looking at her drink. Yamato's smile disappeared and he sighed.

"Are you ever going to stop talking about our past?"

Sora bit the insides of her mouth and took a long sip of her drink, not answering. Yamato stared at her for a while and it made Sora turn to look at him and his slick suit. He was looking her up and down, as if he was going through a lot of memories and savoring the girl in front of him.

"You look beautiful, you know?"

Sora froze.

"Don't worry about our past because you can easily find someone better than me," he stated with a smile. Sora glared.

"Can we _please_ not have this conversation?"

Yamato sighed and frowned.

"Okay..."

With that he walked away, turning back once to look at her with concern. Sora shoved her face in her hands. What the hell was she doing here? This wasn't helping her get over him...

It was time for the official speeches and practices of the rehearsal dinner to begin so everyone was told to make their way to their seats. Sora asked for two shots from the bartender which she took quickly, before grabbing her unfinished cocktail, and then made her way back to her table, feeling a little bit buzzed.

She sat down in her seat between Jyou and Taichi, who were talking about something until Sora sat down between them. Both men gave each other a look and then looked at Sora, who looked upset and angry.

"Are you okay, Sor?" Taichi asked worriedly.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine..." Jyou stated. Sora glared at him and sipped the rest of her drink. Taichi chuckled.

"Slow down on the alcohol, Sor. This is a fancy and classy event," he shot with a smirk of sarcasm. Sora glowered at him and sat back in her chair, ignoring his remark.

The room got quiet as Takeru clinged his glass with his knife, standing up from next to his brother and grinning to the entire room, ready to make his 'best man' speech.

* * *

All the formality of the rehearsal dinner was over and after Takeru and Yamato's parents gave a short speech, there was a couple of hours mingling still left for the people in the room.

Ken looked over at Miyako and smiled.

"Thanks for inviting me, Miyako," he stated with a smile as they sat at their table. Miyako grinned and brushed it away.

"Don't worry about it, it's not like anyone else would've gone with me," she stated stupidly which she instantly bit her lip at. Ken chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was used to Miyako's brazen comments by now.

"You know, you should stop putting yourself down like that," he explained coolly. Miyako blushed and looked at her hands. She never had a great confidence because of her past relationships. Ken noticed her change in attitude and quickly pushed her chin up.

"You're with me now...I don't care how other men treated you, okay? From now on, it's only me and you," he said softly. Miyako blushed and smiled, not arguing at all with what he had just said. It actually made her heart flip, because he made it sound so official...and she loved it.

"I'm probably the luckiest girl in the world right now," Miyako stated with a laugh and Ken smiled. After a couple of seconds, Ken took one of Miyako's hands and looked into her eyes, which made the lavender-haired girl nervous.

"Look, Miyako, I need to tell you something," he paused at the fear in her eyes and held her hand tighter, "I'm having an amazing time with you, but recently, my boss has given more shifts at the department and I'm not sure if I'll be as free as I usually am."

Miyako's throat tightened and she tried to clear her throat.

"R-Really...?"

Ken sighed and rubbed her hand with his thumbs.

"I know this might seem like we're moving backwards, but when I'm free-"

"No, it's not that, Ken...it's just that...this isn't the first time a guy's told me that his shifts at work have increased. It doesn't usually end well for me after that-"

"I told you, forget about them. It's me and you now. I need you to understand that I'm still interested in us, I just won't be available as much."

Miyako nodded her head and kept quiet. She didn't like this, she was used to seeing him at least three times a week, but she knew she had to stop with her clingy habit if she wanted to keep Ken around.

Ken smiled at her uneasiness and moved closer to her face.

"Do you trust me?"

Miyako looked into his dark eyes and returned the smile.

"Yes."

"Then trust me...nothing's going to change."

Miyako chuckled and pushed up glasses.

"Okay, I believe you."

Both Ken and Miyako were pulled from their moment at the sound of a chair falling over. They looked at the table next to them and saw a semi-drunk Sora giggling as Taichi, Koushiro, and Jyou tried to hold her up.

"Will you guys calm down? I'm fine," the red-hair snapped with a playful smirk. All the men sighed and Miyako quickly walked to her older friend's side.

"Sora, are you alright?"

Sora sighed and straightened out her plum dress.

"I'm fine! Guys, seriously, I'm grateful for all the concern but _I'm fine_."

Taichi gave Miyako a look and she nodded: Sora was definitely done for the night. Soon people around were looking and Taichi knew he had to act fast because he didn't want Yamato or Hitomi to see Sora like this...he knew that the sober Sora definitely wouldn't want Yamato to see her like this.

He pulled Miyako back over to Ken at the other table and sighed.

"We can't keep Sora here," he explained. Miyako nodded and stepped up since Hikari was no where to be seen.

"Yeah, I'll take her back to our room," she paused to turn to Ken, "I'm sorry for just leaving you Ken."

Ken smiled and waved it off, "No, don't worry about it."

Miyako pouted and went over to kiss him on the lips, and Taichi sighed as he watched them.

"No, Miyako, you stay here with Ken, I'll bring her upstairs."

Miyako shook her head profusely, "No way-"

"Seriously," Taichi smiled at the younger girl, "I can handle it. I've dealt with a tipsy Sora so many times now that I'm a pro."

Miyako pouted and nodded, she really didn't want to leave Ken alone because he wasn't really friends with everyone else and Takeru was no where to be found, either.

"Okay...let me know if you need help!"

Taichi chuckled and rolled his eyes as he walked back to his auburn-haired friend, grabbing onto her arm after she refused to listen to Jyou or Koushiro when they asked her to sit down.

"Hey, let go-"

"Come on, you're going to sleep," Taichi demanded. Sora glared and pulled her hand away.

"I'm fi-"

"I know you're fine, but I still want you to go to sleep," he stated. Sora shook her head, feeling her tears well up. She really was a terrible and emotional drunk, and it didn't help that she was going through so many emotions because she of her ex-boyfriend's rehearsal dinner. Jyou and Koushiro instinctively took a step back as they saw Sora's mood damper. Taichi sighed with frustration, picked up Sora's clutch, handed it to her, and led her out of the room and to the elevator.

As they waited for one of the glass elevators to come down, Taichi looked over at his best friend and shook his head disapprovingly.

"What were you thinking, Sora?"

"Can you stop with the 'big brother' act, Taichi. It's pissing me off," she stated simply, rubbing the tears from her eyes. Taichi clenched his jaw and tried to keep his mouth shut. As the elevator doors opened, they both walked in and silently waited for it to reach their floor. Sora sighed and rubbed her temples, wishing she'd sober up.

"I hate you for making me come."

Taichi sighed and leaned his head back on the wall behind him.

"I'm not gonna lie to you...but I hate myself for making us come, too."

Sora glanced at him and then looked at the floor. The elevator was spinning and she couldn't close her eyes because that made her even more dizzy and nauseous.

"S-She's so gorgeous, isn't she?"

Taichi looked over to Sora and waited for her to continue because he knew she had more to say.

"Of _course_ Yamato left me for her, I have nothing to offer compared to her."

"Stop, Sora-"

"Seriously, Taichi. Name one guy who wouldn't die to be with a girl who looked like her."

The elevator doors opened and Taichi noticed how Sora stumbled when she walked so he used one hand to hold onto her arm and the other hand to prop up her back.

"She wasn't _that_ great," he stated as they walked towards the room that Sora shared with Hikari and Miyako.

"Liar."

Taichi ignored her as he grabbed Sora's clutch and looked inside for her room key. When he couldn't find it he looked at her questioningly and Sora groaned.

"I forgot it in my room! Miyako said it would be okay because she and Hikari both had their keys-" Sora stopped talking as she tripped on her own feet and had to press against the wall to keep herself from falling. The black heels that she was wearing were too high to balance on with alcohol in her system.

Taichi decided to just let her stay in his room, deciding it would be best for Sora to just drink water and sleep everything off. He led her to the other side of the hall and sighed.

"You're not giving yourself enough credit, you know that?"

Sora rolled her eyes and looked at the floor. Taichi noticed this from the corner of his eye and smiled.

"I'm serious. I know a lot of guys that would kill to be with you," he noticed that she still didn't buy it so he continued, "honestly, Hitomi's hot. But she's not beautiful; not like you."

They both reached Taichi's room and they stood outside his door as Sora stopped to look at her best friend. She smirked sadly, staring at the floor.

"That's an even bigger lie..."

Taichi shook his head and lifted her face to look at him.

"Honestly? I think you glowed tonight more than she did. Actually, you can catch a guy's attention more than a lot of girls, Sor."

Sora stared at Taichi for a few seconds and noticed the way her stomach was churning. She couldn't tell if it was the alcohol acting up or if it was something else.

"Really?"

Taichi chuckled and moved some of her curled hair out of her face.

"Of course! Yamato's an idiot for leaving you. I know I tell you this all the time but, seriously Sora, no other guy I know would ever do something as stupid as that."

Sora didn't know what came over her and she decided that she'd blame it on the alcohol, but she leaned forward and planted a small kiss on Taichi's lips. Taichi immediately pulled her away and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Sor, what're you-"

"Can you just stop talking and kiss me?"

Taichi chuckled nervously and shook his head.

"What's gotten into-"

Before he could finish, Sora shut him up with a deep kiss; and before Taichi could properly push her away...he was kissing her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth, letting her tongue caress his lips. This caused Taichi to open his eyes and stop.

"Sora," he whispered. With that, Sora opened her eyes and stared into his chocolate ones. He wasn't sure what to say because something about the whole situation felt awfully right, "you know, you've had a lot to drink."

"I'm not drunk," she affirmed softly, leaning forward. Taichi moved his head back and shook his head.

"No, I can't do this to you or to me."

Sora stared into his eyes again and couldn't think properly. All she knew was that Taichi was the one who always cared and was always there...maybe what she was doing wasn't so wrong. With that conclusion, she spoke up:

"I want this."

Taichi searched her face for any kind of uncertainty and didn't find it. He knew he shouldn't do anything because it would look as if he was trying to take advantage of her...but he was fascinated.

"A-Are you sure?"

Sora looked over his face once again and actually started to see what all those girls saw...or maybe it was just the alcohol. Whatever it was, she nodded her head and brought her lips back to his with need. Taichi didn't do much for a while because he was trying to think rationally...but he couldn't. So, he put his hands on her waist and brought her even closer to him which caused her to sigh into his mouth. As their lip-lock became more passionate and more desperate, he took out his room key from his pocket and clumsily opened the door.

Sora pulled him into his own suite as Taichi closed the door with a kick, never breaking their intense contact.

From there on, there was no turning back.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! They compelled me to write this chapter faster so keep reviewing! By the way, I have no idea how japanese wedding ceremonies are so I just wrote it the only way I knew how. Hope you all like it, let me know what you think! Especially if there's some criticism :)

* * *

Sora unconsciously turned in her sleep until she felt something warm next to her. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and, at first, her body stiffened at the sight of someone sleeping next to her. It took a few seconds for her to realize that it was just Taichi...

And then, everything that happened last night came back to her with a force that felt like bricks falling on her head: Taichi's sweet talk, their fervent kissing, Sora's sudden _need_ of his body...it all came back.

She let out a shaky breath and stared at Taichi's sweet, peaceful face as he continued to sleep. Sora couldn't believe that they let themselves get so out of contol, but a part of her was so happy they did because last night was amazing. When she had heard rumors that Taichi was awesome in bed- most of which she heard from random girls she had set up with Taichi over the years- she always brushed them off, figuring that it would never matter to her. But _god_ he was amazing in bed.

Sora moved some of the brown hair covering Taichi's closed eyes and pursed her lips. When did he become so handsome? Her stomach started churn and she pulled her hand away. What was she thinking, this was _Taichi_: her best friend since grade school, the man she considered her 'brother' for most of her life.

She had to hold in a chuckle at that thought. There was no way she was going to call Taichi her brother, anymore. Either way, all those girls were right...Taichi was beyond gorgeous and sexy, and she'd never seen it before, up until last night.

Before she knew it, her mind was racing with everything going on. She suddenly remembered that today was at Yamato's wedding ceremony. Yamato was getting _married_ today...why did that not bother her? Yesterday she wanted to drink herself to death and today, she was calm.

She glanced at Taichi's sleeping face again and bit her lip. Well, Taichi was always the one who knew how to make her feel better, wasn't he? He'd been doing it for three years, albeit, they'd never had sex before, but he knew how to comfort her.

Sora smiled at the realization. She'd never felt this comfortable in so long. What did this all mean? Deciding not to dwell on it, she quietly slipped out of the bed and put on the rest of her clothes. She blushed at the fact that she was only wearing her undergarments while she was in bed with Taichi.

She straightened out her dress from last night and tip-toed to the door. Before closing it behind her, she glanced at her best friend and bit her lip. How was she ever going to look at him the same way, again?

She walked down the hallway, barefooted, to her room holding her black pumps in her hands. Before knocking on her door, her body stiffened. What was she going to tell Miyako and Hikari? They would freak out.

Sora shook her head and took a deep breath. There was no way she was telling them.

The disheveled red-head knocked on the door and when no one answered, she realized the door was slightly open already. She walked in and saw Miyako sleeping peacefully on her bed and sighed. At least she wouldn't have to face anyone as of yet. Sora noticed that Hikari wasn't in the room so she took this as an opportunity to take a nice, long shower.

Sora pulled out the dress she was going to wear to the wedding ceremony and quickly walked to the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind her. She swiftly undressed and turned on the hot shower before walking in.

Her mind started to wander as she washed her hair. What should she say to Taichi when she saw him today? Should she act like nothing happened or should she just completely ignore him? No, she couldn't ignore him..._she_ was the one who started kissing him, after all. But still, he was the one that kissed her back and let her pull him into his room.

Sora stopped and blinked. Why _did_ he get so into it? Sora had every reason to be upset and want to sleep with him...but what reason did Taichi have? Sora rolled her eyes. She almost forgot that Taichi was one of the biggest man-whores around. Any chance to sleep with a woman, he'd take it...

All this time she thought that Taichi would never do that to his good friends, but here he was having already slept with Mimi and-

_Holy crap_, Mimi. Sora turned off the shower with a shaky hand and widened her eyes. What the hell was she going to tell Mimi? How was she ever going to explain this to her, she'd be heart broken! Sora's eyes teared up and she shook her head. No, she could fix this. She had to fix this.

With that, Sora dried herself off and dressed herself, wrapping her hair in a small towel which was folded nicely on a shelf above the toilet. She walked out of the bathroom and almost tripped when Miyako came running up to her and crushed her in a hug.

"You're okay!" she exclaimed, grinning at the older girl.

Sora chuckled nervously, "Of course I'm okay."

"Thank god! Taichi just came looking for you," Miyako stated nonchalantly as Sora stiffened, "he said that you were throwing up all night and just passed out in his room. Me and Hikari were so worried when we came up to the room last night and you weren't here!"

Sora sighed. Taichi really couldn't come up with a better lie? She wasn't _that_ drunk last night; she remembered everything.

"Y-Yeah, that's what happened," she paused to look for any suspicion on Miyako's face, "and he slept on the floor, by the way."

Miyako raised a brow and Sora mentally slapped herself as she walked over to her bed and stuffed her dress from last night into her suitcase. Miyako brushed it off and went to grab her dress for the ceremony from her bag.

"So, are you feeling alright? Today's going to be tough for you," Miyako stated with a smile. Sora let out another breath and shook her head. For some reason, the idea of Yamato getting married to Hitomi didn't bother her as much as it did yesterday.

"I think I'm going to be just fine."

* * *

"Are you okay?"

"Of course."

"You seem...weird."

Hikari gave Takeru a look as she fastened his tie.

"I'm fine."

Who was she kidding? She was a mess. After the formalities of the rehearsal dinner, Takeru and Hikari snuck out of the room and went up to his suite to fool around. By the time Hikari had left to go to sleep in her room...she'd realized something. She wasn't _ready_ to settle down the way she and Takeru were talking about.

Maybe she was just into the whole 'wedding' atmosphere at the moment, but now she was a mess. She wasn't ready to settle down and get married any time soon. There was still so much she wanted to do; still so much she needed to get done.

Not to mention that she did _not_ want to move to the suburbs, ever. She loved being in the city...what was so wrong with getting settled down in the city?

Takeru sighed and shook his head. He'd noticed Hikari's awkward mood since she left his room yesterday. He wasn't sure what to do.

"Want to talk about it-"

"There's nothing to talk about."

Hikari finished up with his tie and turned around to look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple pastel dress with a clip in her hair. Takeru had never seen her look so radiant before. He went to wrap his arms around her waist from behind, but Hikari walked away. Takeru sighed with frustration.

"Are you going to act like this all day?"

"I'm not acting like anything-"

"Really, Hikari?"

She glared and crossed her arms.

"I'm really tired of you nagging at me."

Takeru let out an exasperated sigh and ran some fingers through his hair.

"I'm nagging because I'm worried."

"Well, don't worry about me," she stated, staring at him in a way that she never had before. Takeru raised his brows and looked her up and down before speaking.

"Are we fighting?"

Hikari's look softened and she shrugged her shoulders.

Before they could continue talking, Ken walked into the room and smiled obliviously to them.

"Hey, Hikari, you look beautiful."

Hikari smiled nervously and thanked him. With that, she exited the room and left behind a baffled Takeru. Ken gave Takeru a curious look but he brushed it off.

"Is everything okay?" Ken asked with a slight smirk. Takeru shrugged his shoulders and sat down on his bed.

"I thought it was..."

Ken chuckled and went to stand in front of the mirror.

"Lover's quarrel?"

Takeru sat up straighter and coughed.

"W-What?"

Ken smiled at his friend and turned to look at him.

"You guys aren't the slickest people around, you know that?"

Takeru's eyes widened and he started to fidget.

"No! You got it all wrong-"

"Please, Takeru, I'm a detective. It's my job to put the pieces together," he stated a matter-of-factly. Takeru blushed and fell back onto his bed.

"Well, congrats, Ken. You're the first one to figure it out."

Ken smiled at his friend and shook his head, fixing his tie and hair.

"I hate women. I absolutely hate them. One minute, they're fawning over you, and the next minute, they're spiteful for absolutely _no_ reason!" Takeru yelled with a groan.

Ken chuckled.

"Well, there's obviously a reason, Takeru. Girls just like it better when you figure it out for yourself," he explained. Takeru rolled his eyes and pouted.

"Easy for you, right? You're a detective."

Ken put up his hands in defense and smiled.

"Hey, remember the girl that I'm dating? Miyako? Yeah, sometimes even being a detective isn't enough when it comes to her."

Takeru thought about it and agreed. Hikari's mood swings were nothing compared to Miyako's. Then a sudden realization hit him and Takeru sat up straight.

"Ken, you can't tell Miyako! Me and Hikari were going to tell everyone together."

Ken smiled and walked up to the blond, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything."

* * *

A knock on the girls' hotel room door caused all of them to stop what they were doing and look up. Hikari sighed and walked over, opening the door to a young woman dressed in an emerald green dress with flowers embedding in her jet-black haired bun. She smiled widely before opening her perky mouth.

"Hi, I'm looking for Sora Takenouchi. Is she here?"

Hikari raised a brow and stuttered, "U-Um, yes she is..."

The young girl opened the door widely and Sora stood up, moving some of her side bangs out of her eyes. The girl in the emerald green dress grinned even wider as she walked in.

"Sora, right? Hi, my name's Bianca, I'm one of Hitomi's bridesmaids. Hitomi's actually been requesting to see you!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. At first, Sora was disturbed by this woman's uncanny happiness, but then what she had said started to sink into Sora's mind. Hitomi wanted to see her?

"Um...can I ask why she wants to see me?"

Miyako and Hikari looked at each other nervously. What was going on?

"She just wants to talk to you. Come on, I'll take you to her!" She took Sora's hand and dragged her outside of the room before Sora could protest. Sora turned to Miyako and Hikari pleadingly and her two friends quickly ran to her aid.

"Uh, Bianca? Sora still has to get ready," Hikari interrupted. Miyako nodded and added to Hikari's statement.

"Yes, can't she talk to the bride later?"

Bianca shook her head and forced a smile.

"Please, Sora must come with me now, Hitomi _insists_."

Sora bit her lip. She was scared; was Hitomi going to bitch out at her? Was she going to tell her to leave and go home? Well, whatever it was, she didn't want to keep the bride stressed...She was probably freaking out a lot, anyway.

Wow, Sora was so surprised at how understanding she was.

"Okay...take me to her."

Miyako and Hikari gave Sora an incredulous look as Bianca grinned and led her to Hitomi's room. Sora gave the other two girls a reassuring look and closed the door behind her as she caught up with Bianca.

They both silently walked, and Sora chewed on her lip at the awkwardness. Bianca's emerald green bridesmaid dress was beautiful compared to Sora's peach-colored elegant gown. Bianca sensed her insecurity and waved it off.

"Hitomi's father is a wealthy and famous manager for musicians, and since she's his assistant, she gets paid a lot of money. Not to mention that Yamato has a lot saved up from when his band was doing well," she paused to look at Sora cautiously after mentioning Yamato's name, "But, I'm sure you already know that part."

Sora held back the urge to roll her eyes. Obviously, they all knew about Sora's past relationship with Yamato. Sora figured that it was probably 'big news' when they all first heard that Sora was going to be attending the wedding. Sora took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. She was ready for anything Hitomi was planning on saying to her.

"I'm not going to lie to you. When I first heard about you, I wasn't imagining you to be very pretty," Sora raised a brow at Bianca's statement before she continued, "But you should relax. You look _so_ pretty!"

Sora was perplexed by this girl. How could anyone be this perky and...childish? She didn't look that young, she looked as if she was Hikari's age. Sora thanked her and cleared her throat as they neared the big doors to Hitomi's room.

"Hitomi's been bugging me for hours to call you down," Bianca explained before knocking on the door. Sora tensed up at Hitomi's clear voice inviting them in. As the two girls walked in, Sora stood stunned at how beautiful Hitomi looked.

She was wearing a Kara Nakamura wedding dress, which was strapless and corseted with a low waist. The skirt of the dress puffed out beautifully with sequins and jewels embedded in it which made it sparkle. The corset had a beautiful silver design with crystals that shined in the sunlight pouring in from the big window in Hitomi's grand suite.

Hitomi turned and smiled at Sora, who felt very belittled in the gorgeous girl's presence. Hitomi's hair was curled flawlessly and her brown locks shined in the sun. Her make up accented the best features on her face, and she brought it up a notch with a bright red lipstick. Her bridesmaids were working getting her veil just perfect.

"Hi, Sora, I'm so glad you came down."

Sora brushed off her greeting and gawked, "Is that a Nakamura wedding gown?"

Hitomi smiled and nodded her head.

"Wow, it looks amazing," Sora paused and blushed at her behavior, "Sorry, I work for Mrs. Nakamura."

"Yes, I know...Yamato told me."

Sora looked at the floor, suddenly remembering who Hitomi was and _who_ she was getting married to. Hitomi bit her lip and ordered her bridesmaids to stop working on her. All women turned to look at Sora and she noticed the sour look she was getting from Hitomi's maid of honor.

Hitomi got aggravated at everyone in the room.

"What? Why did you all stop working completely? Come on, there's still a lot to do," and with that Hitomi ordered each bridesmaid to do something different. Soon only Sora, Hitomi, and Hitomi's maid of honor were left in the big room.

"I noticed you left the rehearsal dinner early yesterday. I just wanted to make sure you were alright, I hope I didn't do anything to offend you."

Sora blushed and shook her head slowly, she was wearing a twisted bun with her bangs out.

"You didn't do anything...I was just tired and decided to call it a night."

The maid of honor rolled her eyes and Sora noticed it, clenching her jaw. What was her problem? Hitomi nodded her head and grinned.

"Oh, thank god. Look, Sora, I don't want there to be any awkwardness between us. I know the first time we met wasn't the greatest way to be introduced to each other. I'm sorry for that..."

Sora nodded her head and looked back up to Hitomi as she continued speaking.

"It means a lot to me that you're here. Your maturity showed me that I had to grow up, too, and that I couldn't treat you like 'Yamato's ex'."

Sora tried smiling back. She didn't see the point of all this, she wasn't ever going to be 'friends' with Hitomi. She wasn't as mature as Hitomi thought.

"Thank you for that...really," Sora stated with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. She didn't believe one word of it, Hitomi was probably told by Yamato to talk to her. By the looks her maid of honor was giving, Sora was sure that Hitomi wasn't one hundred percent sincere about what she was saying.

Hitomi smiled, again, and went to hug Sora. Sora coughed awkwardly and embraced her back. When Hitomi pulled away she grinned.

"Okay, I don't want to keep you down here so I'll see you later."

"Yeah, definitely."

And with that, Sora quickly left the room and closed the door behind her. She could hear the maid of honor mumbling something lowly on the other side of the door but Sora ignored it.

For some reason, she wasn't as spiteful as she thought she was going to be towards Hitomi. What caused the change of heart?

* * *

The wedding ceremony was going to be held outside under a beautiful tent behind the hotel building. The weather was beautiful with not a single cloud in the sky. There was a small autumn breeze that was the perfect for the wedding aura. To keep the paparazzi out of the wedding, there were hotel guards and police surrounding the whole hotel. Even though Yamato's band's status was falling, it didn't mean he still didn't have a crazy fan base.

Everyone started to shuffle under the tent and started taking their seats. There were about two hundred white chairs laid out with a walkway down the middle. Yamato stood at the alter with the jitters. He had to keep himself from running his hands through his styled blond hair. Takeru noticed his brother's nervousness and grinned, patting him on the back.

"Would you calm down? This is the happiest day of your life, enjoy it!"

Yamato chuckled and let out a shaky breath.

"I need a cigarette."

"Done," Taichi spoke from behind them, handing Yamato a pack with a smirk. Takeru widened his eyes and grabbed the pack before chucking it outside the tent.

"Stop tempting him!" he scolded the older man. Taichi grinned and pat Yamato on the back.

"I only want what's best for him, don't worry."

Yamato rolled his eyes and smiled at his old friend, "I highly doubt that."

The rest of Yamato's groomsmen, which consisted of members of his band, came to get Taichi, and Takeru because they were needed outside the tent to get lined up so they could walk in with their respective bridesmaids. Yamato took a deep breath and was preparing himself for what was coming.

Sora, Hikari, Miyako, Ken, Daisuke, Jyou, Koushiro, and Iori walked under the tent and were ushered to their seats. They all gawked at the glamor of the whole event: it was modern, yet romantic. All the girls were sitting together, and Miyako and Hikari kept badgering Sora about what Hitomi had said to her.

"Was she being a bitch? Because I'll show her a piece of my mind!" Miyako explained, straightening out her teal dress. Sora laughed and shook her head.

"No, she wasn't. Guys, what's with all the questions?"

Hikari smiled and nudged Sora, who was sitting between her and Miyako.

"Nothing, we're just really surprised that you're taking it so well. Compared to yesterday, you're like renewed and positive," Hikari stated with a smile. Sora smiled and looked at her hands before looking up at Yamato at the alter.

He was nervous, pacing the alter in place. Then, he looked in Sora's direction and her heart started to race. She smiled at him and he returned it, nodding his head. Sora was the first to look away and then she grabbed both Miyako and Hikari's hands as the ceremony started to begin. The two girls smiled at their friend and squeezed her hands in reassurance.

The flower girl came out and spread pedals along the aisle. Then Takeru walked in with the snotty maid of honor. Hikari watched him and, for some reason, everything she loved about him came rushing back to her. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo, making Hikari's heart flutter. When he turned to look at her and smile, she returned it and secretly gave him a wink.

Then, one by one, each of the groomsmen walked down the aisle paired with a bridesmaid. When it was Taichi's turn to walk down the aisle with Bianca, Sora's stomach churned involuntarily. She was surprised that her body reacted that way...she started to notice how desirably hot he looked in his tux, in that messy way Taichi was known for. Her mood fell, however, when she saw Taichi nudge Bianca flirtatiously, which she giggled and blushed at before looking at him with a grin.

Typical man-whore Taichi, of course...

After all the bridesmaids and groomsmen were done, the organ started to play and everyone stood up from their chairs. Hitomi floated down the aisle like a model with her famous father by her side, holding a beautiful bouquet of red roses which matched her red lips: she sure knew how to make a statement.

Yamato's face brightened and he smiled as he saw his wife-to-be walking towards him. Miyako and Hikari tightened their hold on Sora's hands and Sora took in a deep breath as they all sat down. Here goes...

The preacher went through all the proper formalities and, soon enough, Yamato and Hitomi were saying their vows. Sora was holding up pretty well, a lot better than she thought she ever would. Yamato's loving look to Hitomi didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. Of course, she still wished it was her up on that alter instead of Hitomi...but she held it together and kept breathing. Before Sora knew it, both Hitomi and Yamato had said, "I do."

"And now, if anyone knows a reason that this man and this woman should not be joined in holy matrimony, please speak now or forever hold you peace," the preacher announced.

Sora's breath caught. She couldn't count how many times she'd imagined herself standing up and declaring her love for Yamato after the preacher spoke those words, but now...she had no desire to do any of that. The fire inside of her that fueled her to want to speak up was suddenly gone. Her eyes wandered to Taichi and she couldn't stop looking at him.

"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Yamato smiled and brought Hitomi to his body, kissing her perfectly. Everyone cheered and applauded, but Sora never looked away from her best friend. Then, as if Taichi could feel her eyes on him, he turned his head in Sora's direction.

Her heart completely stopped and she unconsciously tightened her grip on Miyako and Hikari's hands as a wind blew through Taichi's hair, making him look so handsome. He smiled at her and mouthed, 'You did it.' Sora looked at him thankfully and nodded her head, returning the smile. She wouldn't have been able to go through all this without him.

"Are you okay, Sora?"

Sora turned to Hikari and sighed with a wide smile.

"I think I'm going to be just fine."

* * *

"I'm sorry..."

Takeru turned to look at Hikari and scrunched his brows. The reception was well on its way and everyone was having fun, dancing out on the floor and enjoying drinks at the bar.

"I'm sorry I was being rude and snapping at you today."

Takeru sighed and smiled.

"It's okay."

Hikari raised her brow and grinned.

"That's it? You forgive me? Wow, you _are_ the best," she explained, looking at him flirtatiously. Takeru laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I just figured it was that 'time of the month' for you. Besides, you know there's nothing you can do that can keep me mad at you," he stated with a goofy smile. Hikari laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm not at that 'time of the month', you should know that," she stated with a wink, "I was actually just freaked out by our talk yesterday...about our future."

Takeru raised a brow and motioned for her to continue. Hikari sighed and looked down at her hands.

"I'm sorry, I don't like going too fast and having everything planned out. I just wanna see where this goes and take it day by day."

Takeru smiled at the girl next to him and shook his head. He loved seeing her get so upset and worked up about things like this, it made her look even cuter. He took her hands and forced her to look him in the eye.

"If that's what you want, then we'll do that. We'll take it day by day. As long as I'm with you, I don't care."

Hikari smiled, wanting to lean forward and kiss him. Then an idea came to her that she was definitely comfortable with.

"Well, you know what I want to do as the next step in our relationship?"

Takeru looked at her with amusement, "What?"

"I think I'm ready to tell everyone about us."

* * *

"Why do I always see you at a bar? I hope you're not becoming an alcoholic like me."

Sora turned and froze at the sight of Taichi smirking at her with his hands shoved in his pockets. She chuckled nervously and turned back to her drink at the bar.

"I'd never be on your level, Taichi."

He chuckled and sat down next to her, ordering a beer from the bartender. The two of them sat there for a minute, not saying anything to each other.

"So, is there a reason you've been avoiding me all day?" Taichi asked, taking a swig of his beer and looking at his best friend with a playful look. Sora glanced at him and rolled her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure you know the reason why, Taichi, you can stop being a smart-ass now," she explained as she stir her drink with a smirk. Taichi laughed and ran some fingers through his crazy hair. Sora watched him from the corner of her eye and bit her lip. He looked so good when he did that.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked, catching her look at him. Sora blushed and she finished her drink before turning to look at Taichi.

"What's there to talk about?"

Taichi rolled his eyes and playfully mocked her.

"There's _a lot_ to talk about, Sor."

Sora bit the insides of her mouth and completely faced Taichi, moving some of her bangs behind her ears.

"Look, I'm sorry. I was really out of line last night, I was just very upset about everything-"

"Yeah, I kinda got that part," he stated with the typical Yagami smirk that was known to drive women wild, and for the first time ever, it worked on Sora. She brushed it off and glared, realizing that he interrupted her.

"I guess...I just really needed my best friend."

Taichi smiled and flicked Sora's nose which caused her to shake her head and glare at him again.

"I'll always be here for you, Sor."

She smiled back at him and sighed.

"I hope this won't ruin our friendship...It'll never happen again."

Taichi stared at her for a second and then nodded his head.

"Yeah, it won't."

Sora bit her lip, knowing that this decision was for the best. The DJ soon announced that it was time for the bride and groom's first dance as a wedded couple, so all the lights dimmed and slow music started to play. Sora turned and watched Yamato and Hitomi slow dance, both of them looking at each other with so much love and admiration. Sora's heart dropped when she remembered the time when Yamato used to look at her that way...

"Hey," Taichi called, bringing her attention back to him, "I'm so proud of you."

Sora chuckled softly at Taichi's gratified smile.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you. I mean it."

Taichi grinned and shrugged his shoulders cockily. Sora rolled her eyes and shoved him softly.

"So, do you wanna dance? We can't be the only idiots sitting here," Taichi offered before smirking again, "And if you're worried people will get suspicious, don't be. They all know we're just best friends."

Sora scoffed, "Why don't you ask Bianca? It would probably make her night."

Taichi raised a brow and then realized what she was talking about. He laughed and rolled his eyes at the spiteful girl in front of him.

"Sora, she's interested in _Daisuke_. She was with him all night yesterday at the rehearsal dinner so I was teasing her about it."

Sora looked at Taichi and tried to hold in a blush. Wow, she was so stupid. When did she become the jealous type, anyway? It was just Taichi...

Taichi smirked at her behavior and held out his hand. Sora stared at him for a couple seconds before accepting it and letting him lead her out to the dance floor. As they reached a comfortable spot, Sora wrapped her arms around Taichi's neck and he placed his hands on her waist.

They both looked at each other and smiled. Sora could've swore she felt butterflies flapping around in her stomach.

"I know I said that I'd always be here for you, and I mean it, but I'm not gonna let you use my body for sex anymore," Taichi stated with a grin. Sora shushed him and glared playfully.

"That's fine with me. Besides, that one time was perfect," she retorted softly with a smile. Taichi chuckled and brought her body closer to his before speaking:

"Yeah, well, I tend to make lots of women feel that way," he said with a wink. Sora rolled her eyes.

"What I _mean_ is...that one time was perfect so I don't need or want anymore sex out of you."

Taichi winced playfully, "Ouch."

Sora laughed and rested her head on his shoulder, reveling the feeling of her body pressed close against his.

"Thanks for always comforting me, Taichi."

She heard him chuckle and smiled as he wrapped his arms even more around her waist.

"That's what I'm here for."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I'm on break now so I have more time to write a couple more chapters, so keep a look out for them in the next few weeks. Here's a chapter maybe some of you were waiting for :) Hope the wait was worth it!

* * *

Mimi grinned as she placed one of Sora's hung dresses into her closet.

"I feel like a new woman ready to embark on a daring mission."

Sora bit her lip softly as she grabbed some clothes out of her suitcase and folded them. She was seated neatly on the floor trying to ignore Mimi as she babbled on about her epiphany.

"Seeing Michael in front of me was like looking through a mirror and seeing the fragile, meek, weak Mimi of the past," Mimi continued dramatically, "and at that moment I _knew_ that I couldn't be that girl anymore. I need to start taking more initiative in my life because I don't want to make the same mistakes again."

Sora glanced at Mimi from the floor and nodded her head. It was hard for the red-head to pay attention because her mind had been spinning a lot since she'd gotten back from Yamato's wedding. Her head was reeling thinking about Yamato, the sketches she needed to finish for Mrs. Nakamura, and how she was going to tell Mimi about her small escapade with a certain bushy-haired best friend that Mimi was practically in love with...

"So, no more waiting around! I think I'm ready to talk to Taichi and tell him how I feel."

Speak of the devil.

Sora cleared her throat and looked up incredulously, "What?"

Mimi beamed and sat down next to her roommate, putting both hands on her small shoulders.

"I have to thank you, Sora. When I saw how much strength you had to pull it together and go to Yamato's wedding, I knew I could handle seeing Michael again. And, you were right. Taichi's not gonna be around forever, and I don't want to miss my chance."

A sudden pang of jealousy shot through Sora's body.

"Well, what if you've already missed your chance?"

Mimi looked at Sora with a sudden surprise which made Sora freeze. Sora quickly started to panic. Should she just tell Mimi now or cover it up?

"I mean, I-I'm just saying. You better tell him soon because you're time might be running out," Sora quickly reiterated. When Mimi's face softened, Sora sighed. She believed it.

"You're right! Actually, I'm going to tell him right now," Mimi stated adamantly as she shot up, determined to make Taichi hers.

"W-Wait!"

Mimi turned to look back at Sora who had also stood up frantically.

"What?" The cinnamon-haired girl asked innocently. Sora was shocked at herself. A part of her just wanted Mimi to tell Taichi the truth and get it over with...but another part of her wanted to delay it as much as possible. Why was she so torn?

"Maybe you should think about what you're planning to say and how you want to say it...?" Sora offered, deciding to go with the part of her that was telling her to delay this. Mimi groaned, hitting her head.

"Duh, why am I such an idiot? You're right, why am I rushing into this? I have to figure out what I'm going to say. I don't want to come off too strong and scare him away," she explained.

"Exactly..." Sora said softly, sititng back down on the floor and trying to get her mind back to folding her clothes and putting away her belongings. Mimi noticed that Sora was in a dampened mood and quickly went to give her best friend a hug.

"I know this weekend was hard for you. I'm so proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself!"

Wow, Mimi was trying to kill her right? Sora's conscious could not be any more guilty.

"Thanks, Mimi."

And with that, Sora hugged her best friend back...as she thought about her other bushy-haired best friend.

* * *

There was a knock on the door and Koushiro sighed as Taichi and Daisuke both yelled that they weren't going to answer it. Koushiro rolled his eyes at his roommates as he left his room and saw the two brunettes playing video games in the living room.

"You two are some of the laziest people I've ever met. You guys didn't even finish unpacking." Koushiro stated with a smile. Both Taichi and Daisuke didn't answer because they're attention was fully on the game in front of them.

When Koushiro opened the door, he was shocked to find a very disheveled, but eager looking, Keiko at the door.

"K-Keiko? What are you doing here?"

She smiled and hugged him tightly.

"I just thought I'd surprise you. How was the wedding?"

Koushiro smiled awkwardly and invited her into the apartment, not knowing what to think. Yeah, it was sweet of her to show up, but at the same time, it was a little bit awkward. They weren't even official, they'd only been on a handful of dates in the past three months.

"It was good."

Keiko walked in and was warmly greeted by Taichi and Daisuke, who quickly turned their attention to their roommate and his 'friend' when they heard a girl walk in. It was a rare occasion when a girl came to visit Koushiro.

"Oh, hey Keiko, what brings you here?" Taichi asked with a sly grin which caused Daisuke to snigger and Koushiro to blush.

"Nothing, I was in the area and decided to drop by to see you all." Her honey hair was in a french braid so her freckles were very apparent; it actually looked cute. Keiko's eyes beamed when she noticed the game that Taichi and Daisuke were playing moments before.

"Hey, I love this game!"

"Really? Good, take my spot, I have to finish unpacking and prepare for an important meeting tomorrow, anyway," Taichi explained. She gladly went up to him and took the controller, sitting down next to Daisuke on the couch.

"Wow, I haven't played this game in so long, I hope I still remember how to do this," she explained to Daisuke who bobbed his eyebrows.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you!"

Taichi laughed as he walked up to Koushiro, who was standing behind the couch, and winked.

"I don't know what you're waiting for," he explained quietly to his younger friend.

"What do you mean?"

"She's obviously into you, just do the deed."

Koushiro blushed, understanding what Taichi was trying to imply.

"I'm not like you, Taichi, I can't do that...I don't even know if I'm interested in her like that."

Instead of receiving a crude remark like 'Who cares, I'd still sleep with her!', Taichi kept quiet and shrugged his shoulders.

"You're right."

Koushiro raised a brow and looked at Taichi, "Come again?"

Taichi glanced at Koushiro and chuckled.

"You're not like me, Koushiro. That's a good thing, I wish I was more like that."

Koushiro figured he was talking about Mimi and wondered if that meant that Taichi was actually serious about getting closer to Mimi instead of treating her how he treats other girls. With that, Koushiro looked at Keiko as she played the video game with Daisuke. Maybe asking her out wouldn't be such a bad decision.

"Yes!"

"No! What the hell, how did I lose to a girl?"

Daisuke looked at Keiko incredulously and shook his head.

"You...are..._incredible_. Forget Koushiro, date me!"

Keiko blushed and laughed at the goofy man as he high-fived her.

"Kouhsiro, she's a keeper!" Daisuke stated as he winked at his roommate. Koushiro blushed and rolled his eyes. He looked at Keiko and sighed, realizing what he was about to do. Finally mustering up some courage, he motioned for Keiko to follow him and led her out of the apartment towards the park near the building.

When he returned, he'd have a _girlfriend_.

* * *

There was a knock on the main door and Miyako looked at Sora and Mimi with a raised brow.

"Now who is it?"

In the past five minutes, Iori and Jyou had come to the girls' apartment after getting a text from Takeru, telling everyone to meet there because he had something he wanted to tell everyone.

Miyako opened the door and was met by Daisuke and Taichi.

Daisuke raised a brow and walked in, looking at everyone in the room.

"What's this all about, guys? It's late, I got to sleep soon," he stated, sitting down on the couch next to Iori as the law school student shrugged his shoulders. Taichi rolled his eyes and offered a lop-sided grin that he's known for before walking over to Mimi and putting an arm around her shoulders. Mimi smiled and looked at him as he continued to speak.

"Please, Daisuke, you just don't want to miss out on a minute of beauty sleep."

Everyone in the room chuckled as Daisuke gave his roommate a glare.

Sora glanced at how Taichi nudged Mimi and looked away. Something inside her fell and she quickly went to go sit next to Daisuke.

"Well, the only people missing now are Koushiro, Hikari...and of course Takeru," Miyako explained as she sat on the hand rest next to Iori. Jyou sighed, rubbing his temples before speaking:

"Takeru needs to hurry up, I can't stay up this late, I have to wake up early tomorrow."

"Why, have a gym date with Jun?" Taichi asked while bobbing his brows.

"Ew."

Jyou blushed and ignored Daisuke's short remark before retorting, "Why don't you just focus on Mimi, Taichi."

The room got awkward as Mimi turned beat red and pushed Taichi's arm off of her. Koushiro walked into the room at the perfect time and everyone was quick to greet him just so they could cut the uncomfortableness, but Koushiro noticed it.

"What's going on in here?" he asked as he took his coat off, just coming back from the park after asking Keiko out and going to dinner.

"Nothing, we're just waiting for Takeru," Sora stated bluntly, scratching off her nailpolish and not looking at anyone. Taichi noticed her spite and glanced at her from the corner of his eye before walking over to the couch and sitting down next to Sora. She instinctively sat straighter from the heat of his body. Mimi followed him, not noticing anything, and sat down on the hand rest next to Taichi.

"Yeah, I just got his text...am I the last one to get here?" Koushiro asked before joining the small crowd.

"No, Hikari's still missing," Miyako stated with suspicion. As soon as she finished speaking, Iori got a text from Takeru on his cell phone which he quickly opened.

"Takeru's asking if we're all in the apartment," Iori announced before typing away on his phone, "...and I just told him that everyone, but Hikari, is here."

"This is really weird, is Takeru okay?" Mimi asked with concern. Before anyone could answer Takeru poked his head in through the door. Everyone turned their attention to the door and looked confused when Takeru quickly pulled his head back in. A few whispers could be heard:

"He's gonna kill me!"

"Shut up and walk in, they already saw you!"

Everyone in the room looked at each other and gave questioning looks. Finally, the door opened and both Takeru and Hikari walked into the room, making their way to the front of the couch as everyones eyes followed them with confusion. Once they were both in front of the couch, and everyone was either sitting or huddled around it, Takeru and Hikari looked at each other and pursed their lips.

"Guys...Hikari and I have something to tell you."

Everyone kept dead silent as they listened for what was coming next. A couple of the people in the room knew what was about to happen but didn't believe it.

"We-...um, we're kind of..."

Takeru stumbled as he started to notice the speculation in Taichi's eyes, which he quickly tried to avoid.

"We've been-uh..."

Hikari nudged him without breaking eye contact with everyone in the room. Takeru coughed and shifted his feet nervously.

"Spit it out, Takeru, I don't have all night!" Daisuke ordered blindly, probably the only one in the room oblivious to what was going on. Taichi cleared his throat and glared at the blond boy.

"She better not be pregnant, I'll kill you."

Takeru's eyes widened and everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"N-No, that's not it at all!"

"We're dating, okay? We've been going out for seven months now," Hikari blurted. Everyone had an idea where this was going when the two of them walked in together but _none_ of them had any idea that they were together for this long.

"S-Seven months?" Sora asked as Miyako shot up.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me, Hikari!"

"Aw, this is so sweet!" Mimi exclaimed with a grin before Jyou and Iori shouted: "Hikari?" to Takeru. Both Jyou and Iori knew Takeru was sneaking around with someone, but they never figured it was Hikari.

Koushiro just smiled at the surprise as Daisuke held an expression that could only be defined as utter shock. After everyone settled down, they all noticed that only one person had yet to say anything.

Takeru and Hikari looked at each other worriedly and then stared at Taichi.

"Taichi...are you okay?" Hikari asked her brother slowly, taking a step towards him. Taichi was looking at the ground before he looked up sharply at the couple with a threatening glare.

"You're dead, Takaishi."

With that, Taichi bolted up and almost lunged forward, which quickly caused Takeru to yelp and hide swiftly behind Hikari. Sora and Mimi were the first ones to try to hold Taichi back, and soon Jyou and Koushiro helped.

"Taichi, stop!" Hikari yelled as Takeru hid close behind her.

"I told you he was gonna kill me!"

"Hell yeah, I'm going to kill you," Taichi spat, "You've been sleeping around with my baby sister _behind my back?_!"

Koushiro and Jyou fully took over in holding Taichi back as Mimi stepped to the side and Sora stood in front of him.

"Calm down, Taichi-"

"No, let me go-"

"You're getting angry for no reason-"

"Oh, I have _plenty_ of reasons to be fuming right now."

"Why don't you just shut up and hear them out?" Sora spoke demandingly, tired of Taichi cutting her off. Taichi clenched his jaw and shook his head. Hikari thanked Sora and looked at her older brother.

"We're sorry we kept it a secret from all of you. We just thought it would be less awkward in the beginning if no one knew what was going on."

Takeru cautiously stopped out from behind his girlfriend and slowly walked towards the seething older brother.

"Taichi...I'm sorry I did this behind your back...but I'm not just fooling around with her, okay? I love her. I _love_ Hikari."

Miyako and Mimi swooned silently to his words while Hikari smiled sweetly and nodded her head.

"I love him too, Taichi. It's serious," she explained, taking hold of Takeru's hand and grasping it tightly.

Taichi calmed down slightly, but still looked back and forth between his sister and Takeru.

"Come on, Taichi, give them some credit. They love each other, and they have a lot of guts doing this after seven months. You, of all people, should at least admire their courage," Mimi explained, making her way over to Taichi and squeezing his arm comfortingly. Taichi glanced at Mimi and smiled...she was right.

Sora saw the way Taichi's muscles calmed down when Mimi grabbed his arm and she nodded her head to herself, stepping back.

"Okay fine, you _both_ are saved from my wrath...for now," Taichi glared, "and you can both thank Mimi because she's really saved your asses."

Hikari rolled her eyes at how immature her brother was being and scoffed, "You're such an idiot, Taichi."

Takeru didn't care, he sighed in relief knowing Taichi wasn't going to choke him. As soon as Taichi calmed down, everyone went to couple and started asking questions. Some of them were happy, some were still in shock, and some were confused...but at least the truth was out.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Next chapter! Review :) Btw, I've been re-watching the first season of digimon and, let me tell you, now that I'm much older, I realize a lot of things that I've never realized before! I never noticed the chemistry that Sora and Yamato actually have in the first season! It kind of depressed me, but at the same time, I realized that I can't keep Yamato such a secondary character in my story. Sorry, none of you probably care, haha, but, yeah, just had an epiphany. I highly recommend watching the first season over if you haven't seen it since you were a little kid!

* * *

"Wow, Jyou, you've gotten pretty built since we've started going to the gym!"

The blue-haired man grinned at Jun's words as they exited the gym and walked towards Jun's car.

"I know, right? I guess I'm not that scrawny guy you knew from before, huh?"

"Well, you're definitely not scrawny anymore, but you're still the same guy."

Jyou blushed and smiled at the woman next to him. They walked in silence till they got to her car and Jun smirked as she unlocked the car and took a seat.

"So, am I gonna keep making the first moves in this relationship or are you gonna start taking some initiative?"

Jyou tripped on his way into the car and sloppily sat into the passenger seat.

"U-Um...what? Relationship?"

Jun laughed as Jyou threw his gym bag in the backseat.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me out to dinner tonight? I think we're past the whole 'gym date' thing."

Jyou wasn't sure how to respond and cleared his throat. Well, one of them had to be forward if they were ever going to move forward in their 'relationship' right? When did they start having a relationship?

"U-Um, so do you want to grab dinner tonight after my shift at the hospital?"

Jun grinned and ruffled Jyou's neat hair, "Of course, I'd love to!"

After their morning gym dates, Jun usually drove Jyou to the hospital so he could begin his shift. Today, however, things went a little bit differently as soon as Jun spoke the words:

"Hey! I see Daisuke!"

Jyou's eyes widened when he saw the maroon-haired boy standing with Hikari at the bus stop near their apartment building. He quickly ducked his head down as they approached them.

"Speed, Jun, speed!"

Jun did the exact opposite and pulled up in front of Jyou's friends and rolled down the window.

"Hey guys!"

"Jun? What are you doing here-" Daisuke stopped speaking when he saw Jyou in the passenger seat and made a disgusted face, "Ew! Jyou? This is disturbing."

Hikari laughed and pushed Daisuke to the side as she greeted both of them warmly.

"Where are you guys coming from? The gym?" Hikari asked with a smile. Jun looked at Jyou slyly and bobbed her eyebrows.

"So, you're telling people about our gym dates? That's cute."

Jyou turned beat red and sunk in his seat. Jun winked at Hikari as Jyou got embarssed and this caused Hikari to chuckle. Daisuke crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Jun, give me and Hikari a ride."

"Yeah right, maybe if you ask nicely, jerk."

"Jun, just give us a ride, what the hell-"

Hikari cut Daisuke off by elbowing him and giving him a hard look.

"Jun could we please have a ride? Daisuke woke up late this morning, we're both going to be late for work."

Jun smiled at the younger girl and motioned for both of them to enter the backseat. Daisuke closed the door behind him with a huff and crossed his arms. Hikari quickly told Jun where her elementary school was located as Jyou felt Daisuke looking at him with disgust and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"So, you and Hikari work together now? How come you didn't tell me?" Jun asked Daisuke as she looked through the rear-view mirror, driving towards the hospital to drop Jyou off first so he wasn't late. Daisuke rolled his eyes and glared at his older sister.

"Well, why should I tell you anything when you don't tell _me_ anything? I had to find out you're dating Jyou from Jyou himself!"

Jyou coughed and scratched the back of his head when he heard Jun scoff, ready to retaliate.

"My love life is none of your business!"

Jyou wanted to die. They didn't have a 'relationship' like that. Wait, they didn't even have a _relationship _to begin with! When did they ever talk about becoming official?

"It _is_ my business when you're all over one of my friends!"

"_Why_ do you even care?"

"Why wouldn't I care? I'm not gonna let my good friend get stomped on by you."

"Shut up, Daisuke!"

Hikari nudged Daisuke and gave him a glare before he could continue the fight. This created an awkward atmosphere in the car and Jyou bit his lip. What did Daisuke mean? He had once warned Jyou before that Jun was known for being a heart-breaker, but why did he feel like there was more to the story?

Jun pulled up to the hospital entrance and unlocked the doors. She looked at Jyou and smiled sheepishly.

"See you tonight?"

Jyou bit his lip and nodded his head. He turned to say 'bye' to Hikari and Daisuke. Hikari gave him a smile and Daisuke gave him a look of pity.

* * *

Iori sighed, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples. He woke up early in the morning to come to the university's library to study for his upcoming exam. This week was going by too slow, but at least it was finally Wednesday.

There was a lot going through Iori's mind nowadays. Ever since Takeru and Hikari had told everyone about their relationship, the apartment had been a little on edge. No one was sure who was keeping secrets anymore, and Iori couldn't help but think that he was hiding one of the biggest secrets of all.

He did feel a little betrayed with Takeru didn't tell him about his relationship with Hikari, but at the same time, he had never told Takeru about his affair with Akina.

Iori bit his lip and stared at the textbook in front of him. He'd stopped thinking about Akina for months now, and she seemed to avoid him as much as possible. Even in class, Akina sat very far away from him. Maybe the affair was truly over.

"Hey, Iori!"

Iori looked up when he heard a hushed voice greet him. He smiled when he saw Sora standing in front of him, grinning.

"Hi, Sora, what brings you here?"

Sora shrugged her shoulders and looked behind her as if she was trying to find someone.

"Mrs. Nakamura wanted me and my coworker to find a book on a certain fashion of the past. My coworker used to go to this university so she wanted to come here...but I can't seem to find her now."

Sora looked around some more before sighing, "So, hows studying going?"

Iori smiled and shook his head, "Not so great, but I think I can pull it off."

Sora chuckled and gave the younger boy a reassuring look, "You'll be fine."

"Sora, I think I found it!," a voice stated quietly. Iori looked up at Sora's coworker and raised a brow when he realized that it was the girl that he had met at the bar three months ago. Noriko caught Iori's eye and blushed, ignoring him by looking at the older girl.

"I told you they'd have it," she explained. Sora took the book and smiled widely at Noriko.

"You're a lifesaver, Noriko, I don't know what I'd do without you," she explained with exasperation before realizing her bad manners, "Oh, Noriko, this is one of my friends Iori."

"Um, yeah I know..."

"Uh, we've met before..." Iori stated uncomfortably just because Noriko was being awkward. Sora looked at both of them and raised a brow.

"Oh, where'd you guys meet?"

Noriko stared at the floor and shuffled her feet so Iori spoke up.

"We met that day we all went to the bar, about three months ago."

Sora pursed her lips and then realized Noriko's pleading looks to leave. Sora looked at Iori and chuckled nervously.

"Well, it was good seeing you Iori. Good luck with your exam, I'll see you tonight at the apartment!"

Iori nodded and watched the two women walk away. He looked at Noriko as she walked and noticed her cute outfit. If Akina wasn't in the picture, he might think of calling Noriko. Iori slammed his head in his textbook. Akina _wasn't_ in the picture anymore...was she?

When Sora and and Noriko exited the library and headed toward's Sora's car, Noriko let out a sigh of relief.

"That was one of the most awkward moments ever!"

"Why?" Sora asked curiously, unlocking her car with the keys.

"I asked him to dance at the bar that night, and he basically refused me, saying that he was already involved with someone."

Sora looked at Noriko incredulously at the last part of that statement and exclaimed, "What?"

* * *

Daisuke walked into the lunch room for faculty members and sighed in exasperation as he sat down across from Hikari.

"These kids are the spawn of Satan himself! I thought you said they weren't that bad," Daisuke whined, setting his head on the table. Hikari chuckled at her friend as she took another bite of her sandwich.

"Daisuke, you're the gym teacher. By the time gym rolls around, all the children want to let out their energy. You've just have to learn how to control it," she explained wisely. He rolled his eyes and put his lunch bag on the table, taking out the contents inside.

"So, did you apply to the local university for more classes?" she asked him, taking the crust off her sandwich. Daisuke opened a bag of cheese doodles and threw one doodle in his mouth.

"I called them up, I have a meeting with one of the deans tomorrow."

"That's good."

Both friends ate in silence until Daisuke looked up and smirked.

"So, how's everything been with you and Takeru since Sunday?"

Hikari sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "Okay. Some people are being weird around us, and that's what I was scared of."

"Like who?"

"Like you," she explained with a smile. Daisuke rolled his eyes and sat back nonchalantly.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about, I'm cool with it.," he said while bobbing his eyebrows. Hikari laughed and waved her hand.

"Then, why haven't you talked to Takeru since Sunday?"

"Haven't gotten the chance."

"Daisuke, he's come to your apartment four times since then and you've pretty much ignored him."

Daisuke bit his lip and looked at the woman in front of him. He started to remember how she used to look back in high school and in college. She used to have a shorter haircut that she wore with a pin. Now, her hair had grown longer and was styled in a way that made her look very mature.

"I feel weird around him, now."

"Why?" Hikari asked as she raised a brow. Daisuke sighed and leaned in closer to her.

"He doesn't know, does he?"

Hikari blushed and looked down at her sandwich. Daisuke waited for her to answer until a random teacher came and greeted Hikari. As the teacher talked to Hikari, her mind was reeling, returning to the past. She thought of college and the night that she and Daisuke had-

"I'll see you later, Hikari," the teacher stated before leaving. Hikari tried not to look Daisuke in the eye and he smirked at her reaction.

"So, he really doesn't know? How can I talk to him when I know that something's happened between me and you, and he has no idea?"

Hikari sighed and threw part of her sandwich crust at the young man in front of her.

"I'll tell him, okay? I'm just waiting for the right time."

"Well, when is the right time?"

"I don't know why you're still so worked up about it, Daisuke, it was four years ago."

Daisuke remained quiet and looked at the table. Hikari saw his expression change and remained silently awkward.

"He's gonna be mad when he finds out. You know, I thought he knew and was coming over to talk to me about it. That's why I was ignoring him," Daisuke explained. Hikari leaned back in her chair and chewed the insides of her mouth.

"I know he's going to be mad, that's why I'm so scared to tell him."

"Well, the sooner you tell him, the better," Daisuke explained coolly, thinking about what he wanted to say next. He looked Hikari straight in the eye and smiled, "Do you regret it, Hikari?"

Hikari knew what he was talking about and chuckled, rolling her eyes and throwing more crust in Daisuke's hair.

"Shut up."

* * *

Sora walked into her apartment and closed the door behind her with a sigh. What a long day. She couldn't wait to change out of her clothes and take a nap. Kara Nakamura had been assigning Sora a lot of projects and it was completely wearing Sora out...but she wasn't going to complain. Mrs. Nakamura had never shown any interest in Sora before so maybe her career was finally setting off.

Sora walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator before heading out to the small dining table. She took out some of her sketches and looked at them until the front door opened.

"I'm so excited, I can't even contain myself right now," Mimi exclaimed as she walked in to the apartment. Sora turned to greet her, but her heart froze when Taichi followed her through the door. Were they doing _this_ to her on purpose?

When Mimi noticed Sora, she squealed and ran up to her, sitting down in the chair next to her.

"Guess what, Sora!"

Sora cleared her throat when Taichi sat in the chair across from her and smiled.

"Yeah, guess what," he stated with a sing-song voice and lop-sided grin.

Sora wanted to throw something at both of them. If they were here to tell her that they were now in a relationship, she'd strangle both of them. Wait...why was she feeling that way? She should be happy for them if they've decided to reveal their feelings to each other, shouldn't she?

"What...?" Sora asked softly, looking at her sketches instead of her friends. Mimi squealed before continuing.

"I'm now enrolled at the local university in the culinary program!"

Sora looked up at this and couldn't help but smile as Mimi danced in her place.

"Wow, Mimi, congratulations!" she stated with a laugh, going in to hug her roommate.

Taichi cleared his throat and looked at Mimi expectantly which caused Mimi to roll her eyes and smile.

"And it was all thanks to Taichi because he came with me to my parents' house to ask them for money-"

"Okay, that's an understatement. Mimi came to my office freaking out about it and I offered to take her there because she was too scared to go to her parents' place alone-"

"Yeah, I needed support, and you were good at doing just that," she complimented with a smile, looking at him adoringly. Taichi winked back at her and flicked her nose.

That was the last straw for Sora. Taichi used to only flick _her_ nose. This was too much for her to handle. Sora had never considered herself the jealous type so she had no idea why Mimi and Taichi were driving her crazy.

"Cool...so, I'm going to go to my room to focus on some assignments Kara gave me. Excuse me," she explained as she got up. Taichi raised a brow and looked at his best friend.

"You okay, Sor?"

Sora turned at him and shrugged her shoulders, "Of course, what could possibly be wrong?"

"Well, do you want to come with us to grab a late lunch? I got off work early and that rarely ever happens," Taichi explained with a goofy smile which made Sora's heart flip. Sora then noticed the look on Mimi's face-which was telling Sora that she really wanted to have lunch alone with Taichi.

Sora sighed, she knew she had to back off. No matter how bad she wanted to spend time with Taichi, she couldn't ruin things between him and Mimi.

"That's okay, I have a lot of work, anyway. Maybe next time," she stated quickly, which earned her a thankful look from Mimi. Taichi sighed and nodded his head, watching her walk back into her room.

"Hey, Meems, I have a question," Taichi announced when Sora closed the bedroom door. Mimi looked at him and smiled, nodding for him to continue, "Has Sora been acting weird since the wedding?"

Mimi looked up at the ceiling and thought about it, "I don't think so."

"Really?" Taichi asked curiously. He was definitely getting some weird vibes from the red-haired girl.

"Well, now that I think about it, she has been a little bit more isolated since the wedding. Every time I ask her if she wants to do something, she usually says 'no'."

Taichi took this in and nodded his head.

"Maybe she really isn't over Yamato. I think she just needs more time alone to figure everything out," Mimi explained thoughtfully, ruffling Taichi's hair. He chuckled and shook his head.

"That's awful, I was sure that she'd gotten over him after this weekend..."

Mimi raised a brow and noticed a change in Taichi's mood.

"Are you okay?" she asked, grabbing one of his hands. Taichi looked at their hands as they intertwined and sighed, grasping hers tighter.

"Just fine."


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Andddd here's a long chapter for you all to enjoy! Sorry if I make them seem like they party a lot! I don't mean to, I am in college after all. It just...happens. Haha. Enjoy!

* * *

Friday evening had finally rolled around and Mimi was quick to notice how exhausted everyone was from the week. Everyone was home from work and Mimi had made it her mission to greet everyone. To her surprise, everyone wasn't as enthusiastic to see her as she was to see them. She didn't take it offensively, though, because she knew that her friends was cranky after a long, hard week.

The first person Mimi greeted was her lovely roommate. Sora gave a half-hearted smile and quickly changed out of her clothes to take a nap. Mimi then went to see Hikari and Miyako, who both were bumming around, watching TV in the living room. Apparently, after a hard and stressful week, all they wanted to do was watch movies all night.

Since her roommates were duds, Mimi decided to see what Taichi was up to. Okay fine, she just wanted to see Taichi, plain and simple. So, she had marched her way across the hall to see the bushy-haired man. Taichi, however, was still working in his room. He was on a conference call with some people from his company and Mimi had no idea what they were talking about. Koushiro was typing away on his laptop and didn't pay much attention to her, which was weird because Koushiro usually hung onto every word that left Mimi's mouth. Daisuke, however, whined about the kids from his gym class and Mimi got bored very quickly.

Mimi then walked over to the other boys' apartment and crushed Jyou when she saw him since she hadn't seen him almost all week. Jyou, on the other hand, was too cranky to even be around so Mimi left him alone. She went to see Iori and Takeru, but both were also napping in their room, so that was a bust.

Defeated, Mimi came back into her apartment and slammed the door shut, crossing her arms defiantly. Miyako and Hikari jumped and turned when they heard the door slam.

"What's wrong, Mimi?" Hikari asked worriedly. Mimi pouted and went over to the couch to sit between Miyako and Hikari.

"Everyone's being so mopey. Let's all do something fun!"

Miyako laughed and nudged her perky friend.

"What do you have in mind?"

Mimi thought for a few seconds, and then her eyes brightened up.

"A new club opened up not too far from here. Let's all go!"

Both younger girls groaned and sunk low in the couch.

"Mimi, why is your idea of fun always going out?" Hikari whined, "Why can't we all watch a movie together?"

"Because that's boring! Come on, you all went to the wedding without me and had fun, so it's only fair that you guys have fun the way I want to."

Miyako chuckled, "That's not fair, Mimi."

"It is fair!"

"Okay, well if you can convince everyone, and I mean every single person here, then we'll go," Hikari offered. Miyako looked at her roommate incredulously.

"Hikari! You know that she has powers in manipulating people!"

Mimi grinned and shot up from the couch.

"I'll take you up on that deal, Hikari Yagami. My first mission: Sora Takenouchi," Mimi announced with determination. She marched over to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. The next thing heard was a scream from Sora and a lot of protesting.

* * *

A knock on the door frustrated Jyou. If it was Mimi again, he was really going to flip out on her. Yes, he loved the girl to death, and if this was any other day, he'd fall for her charm, but she was just way too annoying when he was trying to relax.

Jyou got up slowly and opened the door, ready to give attitude to Mimi as soon as he opened the door, but the person on the other side was not who he expected. Jyou quickly held his tongue when a petite woman with a brown bob-haircut smiled meekly at him.

"Hi, is Iori home?"

Jyou raised a brow, but quickly noticed his terrible manners.

"Oh, yes he is! Please, come in."

She smiled and walked in, looking around the apartment. Jyou called for Iori and grinned at the young woman.

"Sorry, he should be out in a minute."

"That's fine, thank you."

There was an awkward silence until Jyou cleared his throat.

"So, I didn't catch your name. My name's Jyou," he explained, putting out his hand for her to shake. The girl stared at him for a few seconds as if she was contemplating something, and then went to shake is hand.

"Akina. Nice to meet you, Jyou."

Akina...Akina, why did that name sound so familiar?

"Sorry, but what's your last name?" he asked curiously.

Akina widened her eyes slightly. Thankfully, Iori walked out at that exact moment and stopped in his tracks. Jyou noticed the awkward tension between the two and excused himself, walking towards his room. When Jyou closed the door, Iori was the first to speak, with a glare.

"What are you doing here?"

Akina winced at the malice in his voice, but quickly brushed it off.

"I just wanted to talk to you, Iori."

"Well, I don't want to talk, so you can just leave."

Akina walked up to him slowly, her cerulean eyes never leaving his green ones.

"I'm sorry..."

Iori looked around to make sure Jyou and Takeru weren't listening. He then turned back to Akina and shook his head.

"I don't care how many times you apologize, Akina. Stop coming back to me." Iori didn't know if he meant what he said. He knew he loved her but he couldn't let her use him anymore. It wasn't healthy. It wasn't right.

"I can't stop thinking about you..."

Iori's stomach clenched.

"I don't care."

"I still want to be with you."

Iori couldn't take it.

"I don't care..."

Akina walked up to him and put a hand on his cheek.

"You know you want this, too. I can see it in your face. Why are you stopping something so good?"

This made Iori glare and recite two words.

"Your husband."

Akina bit her lip and looked down.

"You can't have both of us, Akina. You just can't..."

"What do you want me to do?" She asked, her eyes welling up with tears.

Iori started to feel guilty, but held his ground.

"If you don't love me enough to leave him, then you don't love me at all."

She shook her head and started to protest but Iori sighed and put a finger to her lips.

"Let it go, Akina. We both know that this won't end well for either of us in the end."

She didn't say anything and stared into his eyes for a couple more seconds. She put both hands on his cheeks and planted a quick kiss on his lips.

"Okay, Iori. Okay..."

With that, she wiped the tears out of her eyes and left the apartment. Iori stared at the spot she was standing in and sighed, rubbing his face. He couldn't believe he let one of the best things in his life go...

"What was that all about?"

Iori jumped and turned around at Jyou's voice. He was leaning against his bedroom door frame with a raised brow.

"N-Nothing, she's just a girl from one of my classes. She came to pick up some notes."

Jyou rolled his eyes at the apparent lie and smirked.

"Is that the girl you've been hiding from all of us? Come on, Iori, even Takeru has come clean about who he's been fooling around with, and he had a very good reason to keep Hikari a secret."

Iori rolled his eyes, already tired of Jyou's questions, "Fine, that's her."

Jyou grinned and walked up to Iori, putting a hand on Iori's shoulder.

"This is so great, Iori! It's about time you got out there," Jyou congratulated. Iori was never the dating type and he never put himself out there to other women. Jyou was happy to see Iori showing interest in having a love life.

Jyou's expression quickly changed, however, when he saw the sadness that Iori was desperately trying to mask, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing..."

"Did you guys just break up?"

Iori sighed and walked to the counter, taking a seat at it. Jyou looked at the younger boy with pity; this was his first heartbreak ever.

"So, what's her name? Akina...?"

Iori didn't think before answering and quickly replied, "Akina Arai."

Jyou froze for a quick second then marched over to sit in front of Iori. Now he knew why her name sounded so familiar.

"Does she have any relation to 'Rei Arai'?"

Iori's body stopped moving. Everything went blank; he didn't know what to say. Jyou knew by the look on Iori's face that his suspicions were true.

"Akina Arai? Iori, Rei talks about her all the time, he's works with me! We graduated our med program together!"

Iori felt a big pang of guilt rush through him. Jyou looked at him with a hard look.

"How could you? What were you thinking, being part of an affair?"

Iori hushed the older man, "Could you keep it down? I don't want everyone finding out. And it's over now, Jyou, you don't have to worry about it. Please don't tell Rei-"

"Of course I won't tell Rei, he'll kill you! If you think Taichi's hot-tempered, then you definitely don't want to meet Rei."

Iori sighed and put his head on the table, feeling a headache coming.

Jyou was about to scold him some more until there was another knock on the door. Jyou held his thought and quickly went to open the door to a very ecstatic looking Mimi. Jyou sighed, he could only tackle one crisis at a time.

"Hi, Jyou," Mimi greeted, walking into the apartment and grinning at Iori, as well. Jyou groaned and closed the door, turning to the brunette.

"What now, Mimi?"

Mimi scoffed and ignored Jyou's comment.

"We're all going to that new club tonight. You guys are coming, I don't want to hear any excuses!"

Iori was quick to protest but Jyou thought about it for a second and realized this would be a good opportunity for Iori to meet other girls.

"We're in."

Iori looked at Jyou incredulously, "What?"

Mimi cheered and hugged both men before trying to convince Takeru in his room.

Iori sighed and looked at the soon-to-be doctor but Jyou brushed him off.

"Don't give me any looks, home-wrecker, we're gonna find you a new girl."

* * *

Sora hugged her pillow and sighed at Mimi as she posed in their dresser mirror over-exaggeratedly.

"I don't know how you convinced _everyone_ to go, Meems, but I'm not going."

Mimi scoffed and looked at her roommate through the mirror.

"Would you stop moping around, Sora? You've been hiding in our room almost all week, it's time to get over the fact that Yamato's married and go have some fu."

Sora bit the insides of her mouth and looked at her lavender bed sheets. If Mimi only knew the real reason she was hiding in her room. Mimi noticed roommate's silence and looked sympathetically at her best friend. She went over and sat down on Sora's bed.

"Aren't you tired of just sitting here hiding in your room? Let's go out and just blow off some steam!"

Sora hugged her pillow tighter and closed her eyes. Mimi got annoyed at this and quickly pulled her pillow away, which caused Sora to exclaim, "hey!"

"Stop this, Sora! This isn't like you!"

Sora sighed and put some of her hair behind her ear, "You're right..."

Mimi grinned and clapped her hands together.

"Good! So you're coming?"

Sora looked at her with a dreary look then rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'll come."

With that, Mimi grinned and got up, straightening out her outfit, "Okay, so how does this look?"

Mimi wore a high waisted A-line skirt with a ruffled grey shirt. Sora smiled and nodded her head, "You look really good."

Mimi smiled and ran a few fingers through her hair.

"Awesome, because I think tonight is the night."

Sora raised a brow, not understanding what Mimi was saying. The cinnamon-haired girl rolled her eyes playfully and placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm going to tell Taichi my feelings tonight. So I have to look perfect and everything needs to _be_ perfect!"

Sora's tried to keep a fake smile plastered on her face, but it was hardly working. She really didn't want to go out now, why did she already agree?

"That's great Mimi..."

"I know, I'm so giddy right now, I can't function properly."

Sora chuckled slightly and got up. She needed to ignore that terrible feeling in her stomach and stop being such a lousy friend. She had to help Mimi out, just like she used to. Taichi wasn't hers, and he never was hers. If anything, Mimi had dibs on him first...

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be perfect."

* * *

"Aren't you so excited that we can finally go out together without hiding our relationship?" Takeru asked as he wrapped his arms around Hikari's waist and pulled her in for a kiss. Hikari broke the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling.

"I've never been so excited to go clubbing before!"

"Guys..." the couple turned to look at Miyako on the other side of the room, "Can you guys calm down with the mushiness a bit? It's grossing me out."

Hikari cleared her throat and separated from Takeru, apologizing to her roommate. Takeru sighed and sat down on Hikari's bed, distracting himself on his cell phone while Hikari glanced at Miyako as she finished her makeup, while wearing jeans and a dressy top with heels.

"So, is Ken coming?"

Miyako sighed and shook her head as she turned to Hikari.

"His shifts have increased so I barely see him now."

Hikari smiled comfortingly and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's okay, you'll still have fun tonight."

"Yeah, okay," Miyako stated sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Takeru noticed the awkwardness he created in the room between the two roommates and stood up.

"Hey, so, I'm gonna wait in the living room. Just come out when you're done," he explained before exiting the room. Hikari turned fully to face Miyako and spoke up.

"Do Takeru and I really make you uncomfortable?"

Miyako sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, Hikari, it's just weird for me to see you guys all lovey-dovey because I've known you two since high school as _friends_. And because you two snuck around for seven months, we all didn't get to see your relationship grow. It's, like, one day you guys are friends, and the next day you guys are practically married."

Hikari had no idea that Miyako felt this way, but she knew her roommate was right. Maybe keeping her relationship with Takeru a secret for so long was a bad idea. Even Taichi hadn't accepted it yet.

Miyako noticed Hikari's silence and quickly tried to take back her harshness.

"Oh my god, Hikari, I'm so sorry! It's just...I'm mad you didn't tell me about you and Takeru. I thought we told each other everything..."

Hikari smiled, walked over to Miyako, and gave her a big embrace.

"You're right, Miyako, I shouldn't have kept it a secret from you, I'm so sorry. From now on, it'll only be the truth."

Miyako smiled and hugged back. She couldn't hold grudges against her friends.

A couple minutes later, both girls were fully ready and they walked out of their room. Mimi was chatting happily with Takeru until her two roommates walked in. She squealed and complimented both of them on their outfits as the two younger girls laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Is Sora still getting ready?" Hikari asked as she sat down next to Takeru and held his hand.

Mimi nodded, "It took me a while to get her to come, but she's getting ready now."

There was a knock on the door and Mimi quickly went to go open it. Jyou, Jun, and Iori were on the other side, and they walked in after Mimi greeted all of them. Hikari and Miyako quickly ran to hug Jun as Jyou and Iori sat down next to Takeru on the couch.

"Well, well. Someone's looking impressive tonight."

Mimi blushed and turned at the sound of Taichi's voice. She hadn't realized that Daisuke, Koushiro, and Taichi had walked through the door.

"T-Thank you," she stuttered, noticing how ruggedly handsome Taichi looked in a navy buttoned down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up halfway. She suddenly remembered her mission tonight, and realized that it was going to be much harder now that Taichi looked sexy.

"Sora, you look amazing!"

Both Taichi and Mimi turned when they heard Miyako's compliment echo throughout the room. Sora had her hair down in a messy way-that looked surprisingly good-with a silver, one shouldered top and tight black skirt that stopped right above her knees. The silver bangles she wore on her right hand was the perfect compliment to finish off her look.

Mimi grinned and went over to compliment Sora, as well, leaving Taichi By himself. Sora thanked everyone and quickly glanced at Taichi, who caught her looking and smiled. Sora couldn't help but blush and smile back.

"Okay, guys, so the club is too far to walk. So, Jun, would you mind driving half of the group while Sora drives the other half in her car?" Mimi asked with a smile.

"No, of course not! But I'll just need someone to drive back. No drinking and driving for me," Jun stated with a wink. Jyou rolled his eyes and volunteered himself as designated driver.

"Sora, do you want someone to drive your car back, too?" Mimi asked.

"No, it's okay. I'm not drinking tonight."

"Okay, it's settled then. Let's go!"

* * *

The club was very modern and mature. There was a huge dance floor that was packed out since it was a Friday night, and the DJ was playing some very upbeat music. Keiko had met up with Koushiro at the club and the shy couple decided to try to dance. Iori and Miyako had fun watching them awkwardly move on the dance floor from the sitting lounge. Takeru and Hikari were also having the times of their lives, dancing and drinking together for the first time. Jyou and Jun were nowhere to be found, and everyone assumed that Jun was raping him somewhere.

Sora had bumped into Noriko at the club and was chatting with her at the bar about their day at work. Sora could see Noriko glancing at Iori, who was sitting with Miyako at the lounge, and smirked.

"Why don't you go talk to him?"

Noriko sighed and shook her head, "No, I hate getting rejected."

"Well, I asked Takeru if Iori was seeing anyone, and Takeru said no. So, that means he was lying."

"Exactly. He made up a lie just so he wouldn't have to dance with me," Noriko explained, trying to hide her pain of rejection. Sora smiled sympathetically, understanding how the younger girl felt. It wasn't easy to like a guy who didn't feel the same way back...

Sora glanced around the club and found Mimi and Taichi having fun, joking around on the dance floor. Sora could tell that Mimi had gone through a couple of drinks by then because she kept wrapping her arms around Taichi's neck. To her surprise, however, Taichi kept pulling her arms off of him and was trying to dance with her in a way that wasn't provocative.

"Sora?"

The red-head brought her attention back to her workmate and blushed.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

Noriko smirked and took a sip of her drink.

"Who were you looking at?"

"Oh, um, no one. Just thought I saw someone I knew."

Noriko rolled her eyes, not believing a word Sora said, but she let it go. She didn't get to question Sora further because she noticed that Iori and Miyako were walking in their direction.

"Sora, he's coming this way, what do I do?"

Sora turned to see her object of affection making his way to the bar and she grinned.

"Relax, Noriko. Just act cool."

Miyako walked up to Sora and rolled her eyes,

"I miss Ken! I'm gonna buy a drink," she stated with a pout. Sora laughed and patted Miyako on the back as she leaned over the bar to get the bartender's attention. Iori waved at Sora and then turned to look at Noriko.

"Hey, do you want to dance?" he asked shyly with a blush. Noriko smiled and gave Sora a quick look before turning her attention back to Iori. She agreed and Iori led her out onto the dance floor. Sora watched her younger friends dance awkwardly and had to hold in a chuckle.

"Sora, are you okay?"

Sora turned to Miyako, who was sipping on a colorful drink.

"Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, you've been distant this past week."

Wow, was she really that obvious about it?

"I've just had a lot of work, Miyako."

Miyako dropped the subject and bought Sora a drink. Sora raised a brow and laughed.

"I have to drive us back, Miyako."

"Aw, come on. There are plenty of us that are sober enough to drive back, just loosen up! You've had a hard week."

Sora shook her head and smiled, taking the drink from her friend's hands. Amen to that.

* * *

Daisuke was having fun chatting up the girl he was dancing with until a piercing voice interrupted his moment.

"Oh my god, Daisuke?"

The maroon-haired boy turned and gaped at the woman standing behind him in front of him.

"Bianca?"

He couldn't believe that the bridesmaid from Yamato's wedding, that he had hit it off with, was at the club...and she looked _hot_ with a low cut top and tight jeans. She quickly went to embrace him tightly and Daisuke grinned at the feeling of her body against his.

"What a coincidence. I didn't know you lived around here!" Bianca exclaimed over the music, running some fingers through her jet-black hair with a sultry look. Daisuke couldn't stop grinning.

"Yeah, I live ten minutes from here."

"So, are you here with anyone?" she asked as she ran a finger down his chest.

"Well, I'm here with the usual gang-"

"No, I mean," she stopped to chuckle, "did you come with someone in _particular_?"

"Oh," Daisuke paused to scratch the back of his head, "No, I didn't."

"Good."

With that, Bianca put her hands on his hips and brought them dangerously close to hers. Daisuke blushed but went along with it, anyway.

* * *

Mimi started to notice how hard it was for her to tell Taichi her feelings. The club was too loud on the dance floor, and she was getting weird vibes from bushy-haired man. In the past, whenever she'd put her arms around him or press her body against his, he'd gladly let her. Tonight, however, he was being weird and pushing her away, trying to joke around and dance around with her in a way that little kids would.

She quickly texted Sora as Taichi talked to someone from his work that he bumped into. When Taichi was done conversing, Mimi grabbed his arm and dragged him to the bar where Sora and Miyako were sitting at.

Miyako greeted both of them and grinned, feeling the alcohol hit her as she teased the couple. Sora bit her lip, not wanting to look at them, and thanked god when her phone vibrated. She opened her phone and read Mimi's text:

_'I don't know what to do. Getting mixed signals...and I just realized that I want to be sober when I tell him my feelings. Guessing tonight's not the right time?'_

Sora bit her lip and tried not to roll her eyes at the text. Couldn't she just confess her love for him and get it over with already? It would save Sora from a lot of problems if Mimi just came out with it. Sora looked at her roommate and shrugged her shoulders which Mimi quickly pouted to.

"I'm bored, guys. I'm going to go find Takeru and Hikari," Miyako stated as she got up, getting weird looks from the three older members, "What? I like making them feel uncomfortable around each other."

Taichi laughed, "Make them _extra _uncomfortable for me, okay? Just mention my name and Takeru will piss in his pants."

Miyako grinned and saluted Taichi as if he was her captain, walking towards the dance floor. Mimi glowered at Taichi and crossed her arms.

"Leave the poor kids alone, Taichi. Aren't you happy that, out of all the guys Hikari could have ended up with, she ended up with Takeru?"

Taichi rolled his eyes and sat down on the stool Miyako was sititng on moments before. Sora tried to lean away a little bit because now he was right next to her.

"Yeah, but it doesn't justify them sneaking around for seven months."

"Their reason for keeping it a secret is understandable," Sora interjected as she sipped on her drink. Taichi looked at Sora for a second and understood that she was making a connection to their night together and quickly shut his mouth.

"Fine, I guess you're right."

Mimi laughed and stood in front of Taichi, leaning forward against his knees, "You're so cute when you get overprotective."

Taichi shrugged and pushed his chest out boastfully, leaning back on the stool.

"Well, what can I say? I'm just cute in general."

"Okay, calm down," Mimi stated as she rolled her eyes.

"Please, don't act like you don't agree," he said with a laugh which caused Mimi to blush and move away.

Sora wanted to shoot herself. Could someone _please_ get her out of this situation? Sora sighed in relief when she saw Jun and Jyou walking over in their direction.

"Hi, guys!" Jun greeted as Jyou order them drinks. Sora was quick to greet Jun just so she could ignore Taichi and Mimi's flirting, but it didn't matter; Taichi and Mimi also joined in their conversation. Sora should have figured...Jun was a comic. She could get anyones attention with her speech.

"So, Mimi, why didn't you go with all of them to that wedding last weekend?" Jun asked.

"Well, I wasn't officially invited because I didn't know Yamato-"

"Wait, this was Yamato Ishida's wedding? Oh my god, Sora! I completely forgot that you used to date Yamato in college! Man, I used to be so jealous of you," Jun interrupted as she gulped down her drink. Everyone looked at each other awkwardly and Sora shifted uncomfortably on her stool. Jun was quick to notice her mistake and covered her mouth after Jyou nudged her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry-"

"Don't worry about it," Sora waved, also taking a gulp of her drink. The atmosphere around the five friends was tense so Jun decided she wanted to go to the bathroom and asked Mimi if she would go with her. Jun felt terribly guilty bringing up Yamato and wanted to ask Mimi the best way to apologize to Sora.

Sora didn't say a word and looked at her drink. Jyou glanced at Taichi knowingly and knew that Sora needed to talk to her best friend, so he left them alone. Too bad Jyou didn't know that Sora _didn't_ want to be alone with Taichi.

Before Taichi could say anything to Sora, however, Daisuke and Bianca decided to walk up to the bar.

"Hi, Sora! Oh, and Taichi, too!"

Both Taichi and Sora looked up and almost fell off their seats when they saw Bianca holding Daisuke's hand.

"Bianca? What are you doing here?" Taichi asked. Bianca winked at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"I live right by this club, actually. It's so weird bumping into you guys! I was just talking to Hitomi about some of you," Bianca stated with another wink, glancing at Daisuke. Sora bit her lip and looked away.

"And, now that I know you guys live around here too, I'll come see you guys all the time!"

"Isn't that great guys?" Daisuke asked enthusiastically, putting an arm around Bianca's shoulders. Taichi cleared his throat and gave a very fake smile.

"This is awesome..."

Daisuke then got Bianca a drink before taking her back to the dance floor. Taichi chuckled as they walked away and shook his head.

"I think I need to have a serious talk to Daisuke about that girl. She was great just to fool around with at the wedding, but having her here all the time is way too much for all of us."

Sora glanced at him and chuckled dryly before eating the cherry from her drink, "Funny how someone is great to fool around with on certain occasions but not on others."

Taichi raised a brow at her and sighed, "What's wrong, Sora? You've been acting weird all week."

"I'm really tired of people telling me that. I _know_ I've been weird all week, you guys don't have to reiterate it every time," she spat, placing her empty cup on the bar and asking for a refill.

Mimi and Jun came back out at this time and walked over to Sora and Taichi. Jun placed her hands in the pockets of her shorts and smiled softly at the red-head.

"Hey, Sora, I'm sorry about bringing Yamato up-"

"It's really fine, Jun, you don't have to apologize," Sora interrupted, trying to smile back as genuinely as she could. Jun sighed and held out her hand.

"Do you want to come dance with me and Mimi?"

"Yeah, Sora, let's just go crazy!" her roommate explained with a smile that showed that she was buzzed. Sora looked at both of them and shook her head.

"No thanks, I think I'm just going to head home." Sora hated being the party pooper, but she really couldn't stay there anymore; she was way too upset to have fun.

"Well, you can't! We need your car to drive us all back so, hah! You have to stay with us," Mimi exclaimed as she danced over to Sora and took her hand. Sora bit her lip and looked away, shaking her head. Taichi noticed this and quickly stepped in.

"How about I drive her back to the apartment and then bring the car back after I drop her off?"

Mimi pouted and shook her head, holding on to Taichi's hands, not wanting him to leave. Jun put a hand on Mimi's shoulder.

"I think that's a good idea, Mimi."

"Yeah, Meems, I haven't drank all night so I can drive her home and be back within a couple minutes."

"Taichi, you don't have to-" Sora started.

"Well, you've had a couple of drinks, Sor, you can't drive back yourself. And someone needs to bring the car back, anyway," he explained with a hard look. Sora didn't question him and kept quiet after that. Mimi pouted and wrapped her hands around him, placing her head on his shoulder.

"Try to hurry back."

Taichi laughed and put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back, "I promise I will."

* * *

After Taichi and Sora got their coats, they both headed to Sora's car in silence until Sora threw Taichi her keys. He thanked her but didn't get a response back.

As Taichi turned on the car and started to pull out of the parking lot, he glanced at Sora in the passenger seat and smiled knowingly.

"Is this about Mimi?"

Sora gazed out the window and rolled her eyes, "No..."

Taichi kept silent until they stopped at a red light and then spoke up again.

"Is this about what happened at Yamato's wedding?"

Sora didn't move or answer Taichi's question. She just stared at the window and watched the other cars pass by. She didn't want to talk to him about it. All she wanted to do was punch him in the face, and she didn't know why.

"I thought we talked everything through...I guess not everything was said, huh?"

"No, I said everything I needed to."

"Then why were you being awkward with me all week?"

"A lot of reasons."

Taichi drove up and pulled into a parking spot in the lot by their apartment. Sora quickly got out of the car and started walking towards the building.

"Wait, Takenouchi, you are not getting out of this that easily!" Taichi called as he locked the car and ran to catch up to her. Sora entered the building and started walking up the stairs.

"There's nothing left to say, Taichi, you can go back to the club."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going through your head."

Sora walked down the hall of her floor and opened the door to her apartment. She glared at Taichi when she noticed that he was still following her, "There is _nothing_ going through my head, just leave me alone."

"Yeah? Then why are you so angry?"

Sora walked into her apartment and threw her bag onto the dining table as Taichi closed the door behind them.

"You want to know why I'm so angry? I'm angry that I betrayed my best friend by sleeping with the one man she's crazy in love with. I'm angry that the love of my life is married and settled down to another girl while _I'm_ still single. I'm angry that you slept with Mimi first and then slept with me. Who does that? I'm _angry_ that, in spite all of that, I can't stop thinking about you-"

"See, I knew you were angry," he interrupted with a smirk, crossing his arms and grinning at her. Sora glared and shook her head, looking down at the floor.

"Sor, I've never had sex with Mimi."

Sora looked up at Taichi incredulously, "But, Mimi said...that night at the bar..."

"Yes, she came to sleepover my apartment that night, but she was too drunk to make proper decisions, so _obviously_ I didn't sleep with her. Come on, Sor, give me some more credit. I convinced her to fall asleep, and that was it."

Sora hit her head and groaned.

"It doesn't matter, anyway, I've messed everything up."

"You didn't mess anything up."

Taichi took a step closer to her when he saw the sadness in her eyes, but stopped walking when Sora took a step back.

"I hate myself."

"Why?"

"Because I'm being selfish."

Taichi smiled, "You're not being selfish."

"Yes I am!"

"Why?"

"Because-" Sora cut herself off and turned around, her back facing Taichi. She couldn't tell him that she wanted him. That she, Sora Takenouchi, wanted him, Taichi Yagami: her childhood best friend. It was wrong and it wasn't fair to Mimi, "You should go back to the club, Taichi."

"I'm not going until-"

"Just leave. And do me favor, ask Mimi out when you get back. Please, just become official and get it over with because it's _obvious_ that you both are into each other."

Sora didn't say anything more when she heard silence. She was hoping Taichi would at least try to refute her, but that didn't happen. She kept her back facing him and closed her eyes when she felt the tears rising up.

"She deserves you more than I do..."

"Sor-"

"Just go."

Taichi looked at the back of her body and bit his lip.

"Do you really want me to leave?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? Do you really want me to go over there and make it official with-"

"Yes, I am."

Taichi sighed in frustration and gave up.

"Okay then."

Sora closed her eyes tightly at the sound of the door opening and shutting again. He was gone. That was it. He was truly Mimi's from then on...There was nothing left to do but to get over any feelings that had grown because of that one stupid, careless, amazing night.

Just when Sora was going to start walking to her bedroom, the front door opened again. Before she could react properly, Taichi spun her around and kissed her perfectly on the lips. Sora stood there stunned, but she soon realized what was happening and kissed him back softly, wrapping her arms around his neck. The kiss was slow and tender, almost cautious; neither of them had expected to ever be doing _this_ with the other.

Taichi slowly pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers, showing her that grin he was so famous for.

"Now, are you sure you want me to leave?"

Sora shook her head and chuckled. What a smartass. Typical Taichi Yagami.

Sora looked at his lips before pulling him in for another kiss. This time, it was passionate and needy, as if they'd been waiting so long to do it again since the wedding. Taichi put his hands on her waist and brought her closer to his body, which she reacted readily to.

Before Sora knew what she was doing, she was running her fingers through his messy hair and pulling him into her bedroom.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Hellooo, sorry for the long wait! Here's another pretty long chapter to make it up for it, I hope you all like it! Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter, keep them up for this one too! They really motivate me :) I know this story is getting long, but I actually plan to make it even longer. And when this one's over, I have a second part planned in my head! So, be prepared for an epic journey with all these characters that'll last for a whilee!

* * *

Hikari looked up from her coffee and furrowed her brows at the woman in front of her.

"What's wrong, Miyako?"

She sighed again and shrugged her shoulders, pouting at Hikari from across the small dining table.

"I really miss Ken."

This caused the elementary school teacher to smile and roll her eyes.

"Really, Miyako, it's only been a week."

"I know! But..."

Hikari waited for her to continue but the lavender-haired girl completely stopped talking and placed her head on the table. Hikari knew how Miyako acted when she was in a relationship and worried that she was quickly becoming too attached to the mysterious detective. When Miyako became clingy, she became unhealthy and a little bit psychotic.

"You'll see him soon, Miyako, just let him be. He told you he was going to be busy with his job, so don't be a hassle."

"Yeah, you're right. I can't be like this..."

Hikari smiled comfortingly to her roommate before she spoke up again.

"Do you think he's gonna leave me too?"

Hikari shook her head, "No! Stop being so pessimistic."

"Easy for you to say, you're with the nicest guy ever. Takeru would never leave you..."

Hikari smiled as Takeru's name got mentioned, and she couldn't help but realize the butterflies flapping around in her abdomen. Hikari was one lucky girl, and she knew it.

"Yeah, and Ken is also a very great guy. You've never dated someone as genuine as him, so give him a chance before you put yourself down."

Miyako let out a sigh and nodded her head adamantly.

"You're right. Look, I'm just gonna call him to see what he's doing tonight, but stay here! Make sure I don't say anything crazy."

Hikari laughed as Miyako made her way over to the phone, following her and sitting down next to her on the couch as the lavender-haired girl dialed the number. At this moment, Mimi walked out of her room with a yawn and smiled half-heartedly at the two younger girls.

Hikari raised a brow and smiled back meekly; she guessed it was just one of those days where all of her roommates were moody and she'd have to listen to them whine. She wasn't going to complain though, she liked being there for all of her girls.

"Are you okay, Mimi?"

She shrugged and sighed, nodding her head while walking into the kitchen. Hikari glanced at Miyako as she left a voicemail on Ken's cell phone and walked into the kitchen to check up on Mimi, who decided to make pancakes.

"Hungover from last night?"

Mimi glanced back at Hikari and chuckled before answering.

"No, not at all, actually."

"So, why are you so mellow?" Hikari asked as she took a seat on the counter next to the stove where Mimi flipped some pancakes. The cinnamon-haired girl glanced awkwardly at Hikari and shuffled her feet.

"No reason."

Hikari smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Is it about my brother?"

Mimi blushed and placed her pancakes on a plate.

"N-No, why do you say that?"

Hikari laughed and nudged the older girl.

"Mimi, it's obvious that you're crazy about him. You don't have to feel weird telling me what's going on."

Mimi sighed and poured syrup onto her plate.

"Well, he was being a little weird all night when we were at the club, and then when he came back after dropping Sora home, he barely talked to me. I feel like I'm getting mixed signals from him, and I don't know what to do..."

Hikari shook her head.

"I know Taichi has a bad reputation with women, Mimi, but he wouldn't do anything like that to a friend. I have faith in my brother, he wouldn't do anything to hurt you, I promise. Just ask him, point blank. Ask him if he feels the same way you do."

Mimi took a forkful of her sweet pancakes and rolled her eyes.

"I've been trying to tell him how I feel, but I always chicken out! I just want it to be perfect."

Hikari smiled, "If you keep waiting, he'll probably move on to some other girl. And, trust me, I don't want that, so just tell him! He needs a good influence like you."

Mimi grinned and gave Hikari a fond look before crushing her in an embrace.

Sora walked in on the two of them laughing and quirked a brow.

"What did I miss?"

"Oh, nothing. Just trying to get Mimi to hurry up and talk to Taichi about everything."

Sora clenched her jaw and faked a smile.

"Good luck with that one, Hikari, I've been trying to get her to do it for months now," the red-head stated with slight irritation in her voice. Mimi scoffed and playfully glared at her roommate.

"Well, since I have Hikari's approval and blessing, I think I'll tell him tonight!"

Hikari cheered Mimi on with a laugh as Sora turned and tried to busy herself by washing dishes. How could she even look at Mimi now? Last night, she'd deliberately and soberly pulled Taichi into her room...and she really couldn't get the stupid man off of her mind now. She'd literally stabbed Mimi in the back, but for some odd reason, she didn't want Mimi to even try to get Taichi; she didn't' want Mimi to confess her feelings to him at all. What if he felt the same way as she did?

Sora shook her head. No, he couldn't feel the same way Mimi was feeling. He wouldn't play around with Sora's emotions like that, would he? No, he wouldn't. He was one of her best friends, and she knew that he'd jump off a building before betraying Sora. But, then, the big question is...who does Taichi actually want? Sora could've sworn that he was into Mimi, but he's the one who kissed _Sora_ last night. What was going through his head?

"Sora, are you okay?" Hikari's sweet voice asked, noticing the tension emanating from Sora's body. Sora turned and smiled the best she could.

"Yeah, no problem at all..."

* * *

"I'm not so sure I wanna do this..."

"Come on, Jyou, it's really not that hard."

"What if I break something?"

"You'll be fine! Stop being a sissy."

Jun was right, it was time for him to toughen up. In all honesty, it was just a wall full of rocks...that stood fifty feet tall. Who was he kidding, he can't rock climb! He was trying to be a doctor, not a daredevil.

Jun tied her harness and put on her helmet before nudging the hesitant man.

"Look, no boyfriend of mine is going to be a sissy."

Jyou coughed as he reluctantly put on his helmet.

"Since when did I become your boyfriend?"

Jun winked, rubbed some powder on her hands, and gripped the first rock on the wall, waiting for Jyou to clasp on his harness. He looked cute when he was scared, and Jun almost let out an obnoxious laugh when she saw him push his glasses up and wrinkle his nose as he rubbed powder on his hands.

"Come on, you're about to have the time of your life."

"I highly doubt that..."

As Jun started to progress higher on the wall, Jyou took a deep breath and looked up determined. He could do this. He could do this.

"Just take it one rock at a time," he mumbled to himself before placing his sneakered foot on the fake rock nailed on the wall. Then he started to panic. What if one of the nails got loose and the rock broke off. He'd fall and die! Wait...he forgot that he was wearing a harness.

Jyou shook his head.

"Keep going, keep going," he whispered in his head. It was his mantra until he got pretty high up on the wall. He didn't realize how much energy was actually required to climb it, and he noted that he'd have to praise Jun on her strength.

"Wow, Kido, I'm impressed!" Jun yelled down, looking at Jyou with a grin. Jyou smiled, ready to take another step until someone called his name.

"Hey, Jyou! Wow, look at you being all sporty!"

Jyou looked down at the ground to see Takeru and Hikari waving at him, but that was his biggest mistake. He realized how high up he was and froze in his spot. He couldn't move.

"Hi, guys!" Jun called, waving at them before gripping another rock and making her way up the wall yet again. She then looked down at Jyou and noticed his pallid face, "What's the matter, Jyou?"

The medical student didn't answer, and he quickly closed his eyes.

"Jyou?" Jun asked again, which made Jyou quiver.

"G-Get me off this stupid wall!"

Jyou had yelled so loud that he got almost everyones attention in the building. Some of the workers made their way under Jyou on the ground as Jun chuckled.

"It's okay, Jyou! Look, you've come so far-"

"N-No, get me off! I don't want to be here!"

"Hey, Jyou!" Takeru called from the ground, "It's gonna be okay, just let go of the wall!"

"Are you _crazy_? I'm not letting go!" he exclaimed before gripping tighter to the rocks he was grasping, and leaning his body more towards the wall.

"You're on a harness, buddy. If you let go, we'll bring you down slowly!" One of the workers yelled from the ground. Jyou shut his eyes tighter. What was he doing? He should be focusing on his career, not these crazy antics. Jun was a terrible influence, why was he even dating her?

"Here, hold my hand."

Jyou opened his eyes and saw Jun holding onto her harness. She'd bounced her way down the wall and was right next to Jyou, her strong legs propped against the rock wall. Jyou shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"No way, you're the one who got me into this mess!"

She chuckled and held out her hand some more.

"Trust me."

At that moment, Jyou noticed the way her eyes sparkled and her face shun in the bright room. He was aware that Jun had a shapely body, but he'd never noticed how beautiful her face was; that was probably because he'd never stare long enough thinking she'd perceive him as a creep...but she was beautiful.

Jyou slowly brought his hand to hers and held on tight. She laughed and clasped on tightly to his arm.

"Okay, now you're going to slowly bounce your way down the wall. Just push off with your legs softly and the harness will bring you down."

Jyou nodded his head and followed her motions. After a minute, Jyou was safely down on the floor and he sighed a breath of relief. Takeru and Hikari were quick to run to them, as the workers patted him on the back for 'surviving his journey.'

"Are you okay, Jyou?" Hikari asked worriedly, putting a hand on his shoulder. Jyou nodded and blushed, realizing the scene he had just created.

"I'm sorry, man. I wouldn't have called your name if I knew you were gonna freak out," Takeru apologized with a grin, taunting his roommate. Jyou glared and cleared his throat.

"What are you guys even doing here?" Jyou asked, trying to focus on his breathing to bring his heart-rate down.

"Well, I overheard you talking to Jun on the phone about you're date today, so I asked her if Hikari and I could join in," Takeru stated knowingly, bobbing his brows. Hikari tried to hold back a chuckle as Jun patted Jyou on the back and spoke up.

"It's our first double date, how sweet!"

Jyou glared at Takeru again and huffed.

"Well, I think I've had enough fun for one day."

There was a silence between the four friends until Jun spoke up.

"Why don't you two stay and finish your date, I'll take Jyou back," she explained, smiling at the younger couple.

"Are you sure?" Hikari asked with a worried face. She felt bad, thinking that she and Takeru had ruined Jyou and Jun's plans. Jun shook it off and grinned at the younger girl.

"Don't worry about it, Hikari, we'll do this another time when Jyou isn't being a pansy."

"Hey!"

Jun ignored Jyou's retort and started to take off her helmet and harness. Jyou sighed and did the same before they both exited the rock-climbing arena.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Jun asked, latching herself onto Jyou's arm as he frowned.

"I'm sorry, Jun."

The fiery haired girl looked at him and raised a brow, "For what?"

"I ruined our date and...I'm a sissy. You said that no boyfriend of yours is ever a sissy..."

Jun laughed and punched him playfully on the shoulder which caused Jyou to raise a brow.

"You _do_ know that you just acknowledged yourself as my boyfriend."

Jyou blushed and shoved his hands in his pockets as Jun looked at him adoringly, stopping him as they walked. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her face dangerously close to his.

"Jyou Kido, you're about to have the time of your life," she stated quickly before placing a kiss tenderly on his lips. Jyou's blush deepened and he didn't know what to do.

"W-What are you talking about?"

Jun winked mischievously, bringing her hips close to him, taunting him with her eyes as she gazed into his. People were walking by on the sidewalk, but she didn't care.

"Is Iori home?"

"No...he's at the library studying," Jyou responded, trying to push his head back. He knew where this was going and was getting nervous. His mind was buzzing, he didn't know what to do.

"Well," she stopped to grin and kiss him again, "Iori's not home and Takeru's here with Hikari. That means you're place is completely empty right now."

Jyou cleared his throat and looked around, "Yeah..."

"So, what do you say we make our relationship _official_?"

Jyou noticed the lust in her eyes and he couldn't help but feel the same way. What was he so scared of? Besides, he hadn't done _this_ in a long time...and it wasn't like Jun was a terrible person. If anything, he knew he was falling hard for her. Jyou smiled and pulled away, grabbing Jun's arm and leading him back to his apartment swiftly as he stated:

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

* * *

Taichi walked out of the shower and sighed as he ran a towel through his damp hair and body. He kept thinking of all the work he had to do for his boss and wasn't looking forward to doing any of it.

It had been _months_ since his boss had first talked of a promotion, and since then, Taichi hasn't heard about it. He was sure no one else got promoted over him, but what was taking his boss so long? Taichi has _obviously_ been working harder than anyone else there...but still nothing.

He had a big presentation on Monday in front of a lot of powerful people. If he could nail it, maybe that would be one thing that pushed Taichi to victory. He knew he could do it...but was also a little apprehensive of the weight this presentation held on his future.

Deciding not to worry about it anymore, he wrapped the towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom. He almost screamed in surprise at the sight of someone standing in front of him when he opened the door, but soon calmed down when he realized it was Sora.

"What the hell, Sora, you almost scared the hair off of my head."

Sora rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "That's impossible, you have way too much hair."

Taichi smirked as he ran his fingers through it.

"Well, that's not how you felt about it last night. You were running your hands through it the _whole_ time."

Sora blushed as soon as he referenced their escapade from the night before. She, _then_, became very away of the fact that Taichi was just in a towel, dripping wet. She'd never seen a more alluring sight, and had to force herself to look away, not wanting to make it even more awkward.

Taichi smiled, "So, why are you here?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Well, let me get dressed first, and then we can talk," he paused to smile slyly though, "I mean, _unless_ you want me to stay like this, then that's fine too."

"Ugh, just go."

Taichi laughed and made his way over to his room as Sora turned in the opposite direction and sat on the couch in the living room.

How insensitive could he be? Was this all a joke to him? The fact that he kept referencing last night so lightly scared Sora. Did he think it was nothing more than two friends sleeping together? The way he was acting, it sure seemed like it. Maybe she should just leave and act like it all didn't happen.

No, she couldn't do that. Last time she tried, Taichi knew she was upset about it. Yet, what did he do? He just slept with her again. Was he toying with her? Sora bit her lip and shook her head. No, he'd never do that to her, and besides, Sora was _sure_ he was passionate last night, too. It definitely couldn't have been just two friends having sex.

Sora heard footsteps coming from the hall and turned to see Taichi walking over, looking at his cell phone. He looked up at Sora and smiled sweetly.

"Sorry, Sor, I gotta check my messages real quick. My coworkers are going insane trying to prep for this presentation on Monday."

Sora nodded as he sat down and brought the small device to his ear. He went through about five messages, and from what Sora could hear, three of those messages seemed to be the same woman whining on the other end.

When Taichi put down his phone, he sighed and rubbed his temples, "Don't hate me, Sor, but I have to call someone back real quick."

Sora watched him get up and head towards the kitchen area, pacing around the back of the couch and the front of the counter as he waited for the person on the other line to pick up. Sora leaned back on the couch until she heard that same feminine voice emanate from Taichi's phone. He was giving her instructions on what to do, but Sora could tell that she was whining on purpose to get his attention.

"I know, Catherine, but I've showed you how to do it so many times. If anything, just make the graphs for me and I'll come up with everything else...yeah, that's fine...okay, thanks I owe you."

As Taichi went to say 'bye', Sora could hear the woman's voice on the other end stating, "I'll see you tomorrow, can't wait to see you. Bye!"

Sora rolled her eyes. Who was this girl? She was being desperate and _definitely_ needed to calm down. Taichi let out a deep breath and sat back down next to Sora, rubbing his face.

"I can't wait to just get this goddamn promotion."

Sora looked at him with pity and gave him a comforting nudge.

"You'll be fine. What happens if you get the promotion, anyway?" Sora was very curious. He was already so busy, and if he got bumped up in his career, would that mean he'd be even busier?

"Well, I'm trying to be head of the department I work in right now. I'd help design, monitor, and implement new financial policies for my company, but at this point, I gotta prove that I'm good enough for the position."

Sora looked at him fondly and smiled, "Of course you're good for the position. You're a natural leader."

Taichi grinned and placed his arms behind his head.

"That is true."

Sora smiled, loving just being around him. It was amazing to see how much he'd grown since they were kids. It seemed like the immature boy who wanted to be a famous soccer player was now a serious and hardworking man. Of course, he might be a womanizer, but at least he was always on top of his work. Speaking of being a womanizer...

"So, who was that woman on the phone? Your co-worker?" she tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible, but Taichi caught on and chuckled.

"Her name's Catherine, and yeah, she works in my department. She's on my team, working on the presentation with me."

Sora let out a small grunt and nodded her head, trying not to roll her eyes, but failing miserably. Taichi smiled slyly and nudged the girl next to him.

"Are you jealous?"

Sora's head snapped up, "No. Why would I be jealous?"

"I don't know, you just seem like it."

"Well, you're wrong."

"Okay, then."

"Okay."

Silence clouded the two best friends and Taichi could feel the tension radiating off of Sora's body. He then looked at her seriously and raised a brow.

"Why are you so tense?"

Sora didn't answer and brought her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Taichi smirked before continuing.

"You know, because after last night, I figured you'd be a lot more relaxed-"

"See, _that's_ why I'm so tense," Sora spat, glaring at the man next to her who quickly shut his mouth, "I don't know why you're treating last night like some kind of fling, because you _definitely_ didn't feel that way at the time. Unless I was imagining it, Tai, you were pretty into it too."

Taichi kept quiet and looked away, clenching his jaw. They both didn't say anything for a while longer until Taichi finally spoke up.

"You're right."

Sora glanced at him, her stomach churning.

"What're we doing, Taichi?"

"I don't know..."

Sora rested her head on top of the couch and stared up at the ceiling, feeling Taichi's body next to her sink back into the cushions.

"These past few months with Mimi-...do you like her?"

Taichi sighed, "I never really thought about it."

"What do you mean 'you never really thought about it'? She was obviously coming on to you, and you definitely were leading her on. I mean, you guys were practically making babies with your clothes on that day at the bar, months ago. Even I was pushing you guys together at one point. You can't tell me you didn't feel anything for her."

Taichi kept quiet and clenched his jaw, looking at the ground. This caused Sora to glare.

"Stop lying to yourself."

"I'm _not_ lying to myself or anyone, okay?" he retorted. Sora quickly shut her mouth and let him continue, "I was testing it out. I was trying to see if I felt the same way Mimi did, and I was going along with it. That night at the bar, when she was all over me, I was testing it out just because you all were pushing me towards her, and I wanted to see if I could feel the same way she did. Maybe if you didn't end up in the picture, Sora, I probably would have made things work with Mimi."

Sora's stomach clenched.

"What do you mean...?"

Taichi rolled his eyes, "I _mean_ that if you hadn't kissed me that night after the rehearsal dinner, I probably would've figured everything out with Mimi, but that doesn't matter now because she's not even in the picture anymore."

A part of Sora wanted to jump up in joy while the other part felt terribly guilty. Taichi could have been Mimi's if she hadn't interfered. She was probably the worst friend in the history of all time. If there was anyone who wanted him more than Sora did, it was her pure-hearted roommate.

"Well," Sora started, trying to put more pieces together, "if you felt that way, why did you still make it seem like you were interested in Mimi when we came back from the wedding?"

Taichi smirked, "Because _you're_ the one who said you didn't want to ruin our friendship."

Sora kept her mouth shut.

"So, clearly, you were the one lying to yourself."

Sora looked him in the eye and then glanced back at the floor. She was so torn. On one hand, she wished she'd never slept with Taichi for Mimi's sake, but on the other hand, she was so goddamn happy that she did. It'd been a while since someone ever made her feel the way that he did...

Taichi pushed her chin up to look at him as Sora's heart started beating loudly in her ears.

"So, where does this leave us now?" he asked softly. Sora bit her lip and shook her head.

"I don't know. I can't do this to Mimi, Tai, I just can't."

"Why don't you just tell her the truth?"

"Because she'll hate me. I can't do this to her, Taichi, she's practically in love with you."

"Well, it doesn't matter if she is because I don't feel the same way."

Sora shut her eyes tightly and tried to fight back tears, "And it's my fault that you don't."

Taichi chuckled when he heard her voice quiver in that last sentence. He put some hair behind her ear and touched her cheek softly.

"Go with your gut, okay? Whatever you want to do is fine with me."

Sora bit her lip and stared into Taichi's brown eyes.

"I want to be with you."

Taichi gazed back into Sora's amber eyes with just as much intensity.

"Then, I'm not stopping you..." he spoke softly, bringing his lips closer to hers. Sora's breath caught, as if this was going to be their first kiss. How and when did Taichi have such a hold on her?

Sora finally brought her lips to his and could feel the sparks flying everywhere. She almost felt like a love-struck teenager all over again.

Taichi moved the hand that was placed on her cheek, and ran it through her hair and down her arm, sending shivers jolting up Sora's spine. She willingly moved her body closer and instinctively ran her fingers through his mess of hair. He was right, she was crazy about his hair.

When she felt Taichi's tongue caress her lips, she gladly let him in, making the entire moment even more passionate. 'Why hadn't they been doing this their whole lives?' was the only question running through Sora's head as Taichi brought his arms around her waist, his hands pressing against her back as she arched into him.

Just as Sora was going to push Taichi down on the couch, the doorknob of the front door started to jiggle and the two best friends stared at each other with wide eyes as they stopped their actions, quickly pushing themselves off each other. Sora jolted up and fixed her clothes as Daisuke walked through the door.

"Oh, hey, Sora what brings you here?"

"Hi! Oh, nothing, just trying to get advice from Taichi over here," she stopped to pull Taichi up by the collar of his shirt, "about some job related stuff."

Daisuke pouted, not noticing anything that happened in the room.

"Well, mind giving me some advice, Taichi, because my job's a real drag and my classes at the university are mind-numbingly boring."

"Um...suck it up, Daiuske," was all Taichi said as he ran some fingers through his hair. As if the situation couldn't get worse, Mimi walked into the room and grinned at everyone.

"Hi, guys, what're you all doing?"

Sora couldn't look her in the face and quickly looked away.

"Nothing, Taichi's just giving me some really bad advice about my job," Daisuke stated.

Mimi rolled her eyes and ruffled Daisuke's hair as she walked into the room.

"You're always complaining about your job, Daisuke, give everyone a break."

Daisuke glared and mocked her behind her back playfully before she walked up to Taichi and Sora.

"Hey, Sora, do you mind if I steal Taichi for a minute?" Mimi asked with a small wink in her roommate's direction. Daisuke grinned and quickly walked over to Sora.

"Actually, Mimi, Sora and I were just about to leave so you and Taichi could have some alone time, if you know what I mean," he stated obnoxiously with a wink in Taichi's direction. It took all the energy Taichi had not to glare at his ignorant young friend.

Sora gave Taichi a look before speaking.

"U-Um, yeah we were just on our way out, Mimi. He's all yours..."

Taichi raised a brow and cleared his throat. How could she say that after everything they just talked about?

"_Actually_, I'm not all yours..." he started saying to Mimi, before noticing the immense fear in Sora's eyes which caused him to change his choice of words, "...at the moment because I have a lot of work to do for Monday. Maybe later?"

"Oh...yeah, that's fine. Well, you know where to find me," she explained sweetly, trying to remain hopeful. Taichi smiled and waved at everyone before entering his room.

As Mimi and Sora walked back into their apartment, Mimi slowly walked into their room and shook her head.

"I don't get it, he was perfectly fine with me a few days ago..."

It took all of Sora's energy not to break down and confess to her best friend right then and there.

* * *

Miyako's heart clenched as she raised her hand to knock on his door.

It was late at night and Ken had invited her to come over when his shift was over. She'd only been to his place once before, even though they'd been going out for about four months now.

She couldn't explain why she was so nervous. Maybe it was because she hadn't seen Ken in so long and she missed him so much. Or maybe it was because she was scared that he was going to tell her that she was too clingy.

That's what always happened, anyway; whenever Miyako got her hopes up, they'd be crushed over and over again. Why would Ken be any different?

Miyako finally took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Within a few of seconds, Ken open the door and smiled smoothly to the woman in front of him.

"Right on time," he stated with a chuckle. Miyako smiled meekly and walked in. Ken noticed her odd demeanor and followed her into his apartment after closing the door.

"Are you okay, Miyako?" he asked cautiously. She nodded her head and hung her jacket on the coat rack before making her way over to his couch. Ken had a very masculine apartment that was quite clean for a busy detective. Maybe it was because he didn't spend too much time at home.

Ken took a seat next to her and held one of her hands.

"What's going on?"

"I think we should break up, Ken."

Ken furrowed his brows, "I don't understand."

"I know I'm being selfish right now, but I can't do this. You have to know that I'm _crazy_, okay? I need at least one phone call a day and I like having a boyfriend that's always around when I need him. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but that's just who I am! And-"

"Wait, who said that I don't like that," Ken interrupted with a laugh. Miyako glared the fact that he was finding the situation amusing.

"What, you like clingy girls?"

"You're not clingy, Miyako-"

"Yeah, because I've tried _not_ to be all week! Do you know how hard it was for me not to come down to your station and surprise you?"

"Well, why didn't you surprise me?"

Miyako was about to keep speaking, but then quickly closed her mouth. It was really hard to be mad at Ken, even though she didn't have a real reason to be angry with him.

"Because I didn't want to push you away!"

"Miyako," Ken started, taking a hold of both of Miyako's hands, "I never told you to stay away from me. I told you that I want us to keep moving forward, remember? Obviously, I don't want you to see me at work every single day, but if you want to drop by every now and then, you're more than welcome. And, if you want a phone call from me more often, I can definitely try but I can't promise I'll be able to call everyday. I don't know where you got this idea that I don't want you to be who you are."

Miyako looked down stupidly.

"I guess I was just being paranoid..."

Ken laughed and pushed her chin up, kissing her softly on the lips. When they pulled away, he smiled and shook his head.

"Honestly, I fell for the girl who's crazy, not the one who's trying to be something she's not."

Miyako blushed, "I'm probably the biggest idiot in the world right now."

"Probably," Ken laughed again. Miyako looked at him adoringly. How did she find such an amazing man? Hikari was right, he's not like the other guys she's dated before.

"So, now that that whole fiasco is over with, how about we have dinner?"

"You made dinner? It's ten o'clock at night, Ken!"

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"I thought I'd do something special since we haven't seen each other in a while."

Miyako wrapped her arms around his neck and grinned, "I have a better idea."

She brought his lips to his, again, bringing her body close to his. Ken kissed her back slowly, placing his hands tenderly on her hips. They both hadn't realized how much they'd actually missed each other.

Miyako's body felt as if it was on fire when Ken's kisses got deeper and more passionate. She started running her hands down his chest, subconsciously unbuttoning his shirt slowly. Ken's hand snaked it's way under her sweater and caressed the bare skin of her waist, causing Miyako to intake a sharp breath.

Ken's kisses started to move to her jaw, forcing Miyako to breathe heavily, and when he got to her ear, he softly whispered:

"Do you want to take this to my bedroom?"

Miyako pulled his head back softly and looked into his eyes, seeing something that she'd never seen in any other man's eyes before. No one has ever looked at her the way Ken did at that moment, and she realized, right then and there, that this was the man she wanted to be with for the rest of her life, if she could.

"Yes."

He pulled her up so they were standing and kissed her on the lips again until Miyako pulled away, blushing shyly.

"I love you, Ken..."

He smiled fondly and placed some hair behind her ear tenderly.

"I love you, too."

With that, he took her hand and led him in the direction of his room.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Wow, please don't kill me for not updating in so long! I didn't mean it, I swear. I was having a major writer's block, and had a fire in my house, so I've been pretty busy! But, it's okay, I wrote a long chapter, and the next chapter should be out very soon :) So, I've gotten a few comments about the OOC-ness of Iori, and it's been bugging me for a while! I just finished re-watching the second season of digimon, so I realized how much I forgot Iori's characteristics. Then, I realized, that he was a pretty young boy in second season, and when people grow up, a lot of things change. So I tried to explain some of that in this chapter ;) hope it makes things a little better! Well, anyway, enough of this. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

A typical morning in the Yagami-Izumi-Motimiya apartment was anything but calm these days. Ever since Daisuke started his job at the elementary school and registered for a few classes at the local university, he'd been up bright and early every single day. Today was no different.

Taichi was on the phone talking to his coworkers, pacing around the apartment instead of eating breakfast. There was a rumor going around that his boss was going to announce who got the promotion today. It was an understatement to say that Taichi was anxious.

Koushiro, on the other hand, was enjoying his breakfast slowly and reading the morning paper. Unlike Taichi and Daisuke, who woke up at the latest second they possibly could, Koushiro made a habit of giving himself enough time to relax and savor his mornings. Little did he know that a serene morning was not in store for him that day.

A knock made Taichi grunt and walk over to the door begrudgingly. Thinking that one of his friends was at the other end, he was ready to walk away, but the sight in front of him caused grin on his face, and made him hang up his phone.

"Oh, hey, Keiko, what brings _you_ here?" he asked with a sly look. Keiko smiled up at him and shrugged her shoulders, walking into the apartment when Taichi stepped aside and give Daisuke a knowing look. Koushiro immediately noticed her presence and stood up clumsily from his chair.

"I'm here to go to work with Koushiro," she explained nonchalantly, "and I thought I'd surprise him."

Keiko was dressed in tweed dress pants and a black blouse with her hair combed neatly as it fell above her shoulders. She turned to smile at Koushiro and quickly went to place a kiss on his cheek. This caused Koushiro to blush and clear his throat as he heard Daisuke and Taichi snigger.

"Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise, Koushiro?" Daisuke asked with a grin, fixing his basketball shorts. Koushiro tried not to glare and ignored his taunting remark.

"Keiko, I'm completely out of your way. You didn't have to come all the way here just to go to work with me-"

"Don't worry about it! It was no trouble at all," she interjected, smiling sweetly.

Taichi and Daisuke swooned jokingly, trying not to laugh at their own actions. Koushiro ignored them, and turned to Keiko. Now that she was here, he wanted to leave as quickly as he could. Ever since he and Keiko had officially started dating, Koushiro hadn't heard the end of it from Taichi and Daisuke. They teased him to no end.

"Well, I'm ready to leave now," Koushiro quickly stated, "So, let's head out."

Keiko chuckled with a blush, realizing Koushiro's awkwardness about the whole situation.

"Just give me a couple of minutes, I have to use the restroom," Keiko explained, pushing some hair behind her ear gracefully, "Then we can go."

As she walked towards the bathroom, Daisuke grinned and walked over to Koushiro, patting him on the back.

"I'm impressed, Koushiro. Even I haven't been able to get a girl to come in the morning and walk _me_ to work."

Koushiro glared, "Because, until recently, you didn't have a job to get escorted to."

"Hey, don't get so serious! I'm just teasing," Daisuke stated, putting his hands up, "No need to get so defensive."

Taichi chuckled and walked up to the duo, sitting down on a stool carefully, not wanting to wrinkle his suit.

"Look, Daisuke and I are just excited because it's usually _us_ bringing back the girls. And before you say anything, I mean it in a _good _way. It's nice to see you have a girlfriend, especially one as cool as Keiko...she's better than _other_ girls," Taichi stated, glancing at Daisuke when he stated the last part. Daisuke pouted.

"Come on, Bianca is not that bad!"

"Okay, Daisuke, whatever you say..."

"Alright, she's not a computer whiz, nor is she interested in video games like Koushiro's girl...but she's hot, okay!" Daisuke announced in his defense, hurt that the man he looked up to disapproved of his 'thing' with Bianca. She'd been visiting the apartment a lot, to the dismay of everyone else. Daisuke hadn't really noticed, nor did he really care. He was just loving the action.

"Yeah, but maybe you should try to look past the good looks-"

"Says the guy who brings back ditzy morons all the time!"

Before Taichi could retaliate, Koushiro cut in with a grin:

"I don't see why I let you guys tease me about Keiko all the time...obviously _I_ should be the one taunting you two about you're poor choices in women."

Taichi shut his mouth, knowing that Koushiro was right. Daisuke, on the other hand, groaned.

"What is so wrong with Bianca?"

Taichi ignored Daisuke's comment and smiled at the red-head.

"In all seriousness, Kou, Keiko's an awesome girl. I know you're holding yourself back, probably because you don't know how to act in a relationship, but if you're going to move ahead with anyone," Taichi paused to point back at the bathroom door down the hall, "she's the one."

Koushiro blushed and stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"And honestly," Taichi spoke again, "I just want you to sleep with her already. I mean, you guys have been together for three weeks now, and she obviously wants it."

Daisuke laughed and high-fived Taichi, who laughed obnoxiously. Koushiro rolled his eyes and tried to repress his blush as Keiko exited the bathroom and walked down the hallway, her hair now neatly clipped into a small bun.

"Ready?" He asked before she nodded meekly.

Koushiro quickly latched onto her arm and proceeded to exit his apartment. As hard as he tried to leave before Taichi and Daisuke could make witty remarks, he just couldn't rush out in time.

"Have fun at work today, love-birds!" Daisuke called in a sing-song voice.

"Make sure your boss doesn't catch you kids having too much fun, though!" Taichi announced.

With that, Koushiro sighed and shut the door.

* * *

Iori sighed and stared at the table in front of him. He was conflicted. He'd never considered himself someone who'd go against his principles, but that was all thrown out of the window once he started his affair with Akina. He had never felt guilty about it, though. He was just a victim of love...and to Iori, that was the best excuse to do something against your beliefs. However, he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself that love was a good excuse...or if it actually was.

Iori was brought up in a loving family. His father had died at a young age, but he was raised by his mother and grandfather. His grandfather had taught him everything, and molded him into the man that he is today. If there was one thing Iori remembered about his grandfather's teachings, it was to never lie and to stay true to your morals. Iori had lived his life that way to the best of his ability. It was actually quite ironic that he chose to go into the field of law; for what are lawyers except weasels and liars? Iori didn't look at it that way, though. He saw it as a way to bring justice, to fight for the truth, and to uphold the morals of society.

Unfortunately, Iori's grandfather passed away a couple of years ago...and Iori wondered if that was why he was acting this way. Losing his father was tough, but losing his grandfather was even tougher. It was Iori's job to uphold his grandfather's honor by following his teachings...but maybe Iori was rebelling because of his death; Iori had lost the one man who kept him in line.

That's where Akina Arai came into play. He suddenly was becoming aware of his naivety to believe that he could never lie and stay true to his morals. It took one girl to tear that all away from him. Iori shook his head, quickly realizing that he was spending too much time thinking about all this. Ever since Jyou found out about the affair, Iori had a deep feeling of guilt in his chest. Who had he turned into? What morals did he have now?

He chuckled to himself dryly and closed his green eyes. Life was so much easier when he was a young boy, thinking that he had it all figured out. How would his grandfather look at him if he knew? This made him chuckle again. His grandfather already knew...he was probably looking down at him from heaven and shaking his head in disappointment.

"Sorry I'm late! Mrs. Kara wouldn't let me go on my lunch break until I finished sending out some orders to Paris."

Iori looked up at Noriko Kawada and instantly sat up straighter in his seat.

"It's no problem, I've only been here for five minutes."

Iori had decided to dig up that piece of paper that Noriko gave him at the bar a few months ago. Jyou was right...he had to find another girl, and he had to wash away his guilt. Noriko was a cute young woman, and she was definitely single. So, what was the harm in trying it?

Noriko sat down gently and smiled at the law student. Iori decided to take her out on a date at an outdoor cafe by his campus. Since autumn was starting to take over, he thought that it would be nice to do something outside while it was still warm enough.

"So how were your classes so far?" She asked, glancing at the menu to order a cappuccino.

"Alright. I have a couple of case studies I still have to do before the end of the day."

Noriko sighed and nodded, "I understand. Mrs. Nakamura's got me and Sora working like crazy. She has a runway show coming up, and she's stressing out about it."

"That sounds pleasant," Iori stated sarcastically with a smile. She laughed and Iori quickly realized how sweet she was. Unlike Akina, she seemed very innocent; kind of like how Iori used to be before the affair...

A waitress came to take their orders before retreating into the cafe. Noriko smiled and glanced at him.

"So, what made you interested in law?"

Iori shrugged his shoulders, "I believe in justice."

Noriko nodded. She was used to Iori's short responses by now.

"What about you? What got you into fashion?"

"Well," she paused to chuckle, "I actually wanted to be a kindergarden teacher when I was younger. As I started growing older, my interests changed. I became more interested in fancy gowns and wedding dresses. From that, all I knew was that I wanted to design wedding gowns."

Iori smiled. She reminded him of his old innocence.

"That's interesting. One of my friends Hikari is actually an elementary school teacher."

"Yeah, Sora's told me about her! She's told me about almost all of you, actually," Noriko stated with a blush. Iori raised his brow.

"Is that so? So...has she told you anything about me?"

This caused the girl's face to redden even more.

"Nothing specific..."

"What did she say?" he asked curiously. It didn't take a future lawyer to know that the girl felt uncomfortable.

"Well...I was the one who asked specifically about you."

Iori tried to hold back a blush as she continued. She smiled and also tried to hide her flushed face.

"I wanted to know if you were involved with anyone...because you said you were that night at the bar."

Iori's stomach clenched, and he suddenly imagined Akina's face. He was slowly starting to despise that girl...

When Iori looked back up at Noriko, he gazed into her eyes. Was she his chance to make things better? Was she his chance to fix the dissonance inside his heart? As if a force in the universe wanted Iori to suffer, the object of his suffering made her way towards the cafe with a couple of her girlfriends.

Iori watched Akina as she laughed with some classmates. She was wearing a white tunic top with jeans, looking causal and beautiful with her brown bob-cut down. She still hadn't noticed that he was there. Iori had a quick urge to lift up his menu and hide his face, but he knew that wasn't the right thing to do. He had to get over Akina, and he had to show her that he was done with her.

No more lies. No more secrets. No more guilt.

He was going to be his old self again, and that was final.

Noriko looked at Iori with concern, "Are you alright?"

Iori quickly brought his eyes back to the girl in front of him. Iori never realized the slight resemblance that Akina and Noriko had. Noriko didn't have stark features like Akina, however. She was delicate and cute with her brown hair ending an inch above her shoulders. A shroud of side bangs swept across her forehead, which accented her dark eyes nicely.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

Just then, Iori looked back in Akina's direction and stopped breathing. She was staring back at him with her piercing cerulean eyes and a look of pain and anger on her face. Before Iori could do anything, Akina started making her way over to Iori and Noriko's table, leaving her friends behind. Before he knew it, she was standing in front of the table.

"Hello, Iori," she stated curtly, trying to smile as best as she could.

Iori nodded his head and cleared his throat, "How are you, Akina?"

"I could be better."

Iori glanced at Noriko and quickly noticed that she felt the tension between him and Akina. Akina watched as Iori looked at her, and, then, turned her attention to the girl at the table with pursed lips.

"How rude of me. My names Akina, I'm Iori's...classmate," she said forcefully to Noriko, trying to hold back a glare. Noriko smiled back cautiously.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Noriko."

There was an odd silence between the threesome, and Iori clenched his jaw. Why did she come over here? Was she trying to torture him?

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Akina asked slyly, grasping onto the purse hanging from her shoulder. That was the last straw. What kind of game was she playing?

"Actually, you are. Me and Noriko are on a date," Iori said abruptly. This caused Noriko to blush and look down at the table. Akina, however, glared slightly at Iori and chuckled, turning to Noriko.

"You should feel lucky. Iori's always wanted to take a girl out on a nice date. He just never got the chance until now, I guess."

Noriko was starting to get confused and slowly looked in Iori's direction. When she saw the anger sparking in Iori's eyes, she smiled and looked back at Akina.

"Yeah, I do feel lucky. Any girl would be crazy not to accept a date with him."

Akina quickly shut her mouth and gave Noriko a sour look.

"Well, I'll let you guys get back to your date then," Akina turned to Iori, "See you in class, Iori..."

With that, Akina Arai walked away from Iori once again. This time, however, the only thought running through his head was 'good riddance.' Noriko let out a long breath and raised a brow at Iori.

"Who was she? Some girl that's been trying to go on a date with you or something? She seemed kind of crazy."

Iori couldn't help but chuckle at Noriko's comment and smile.

"Oh, you have no idea."

* * *

Hikari looked up at the children sitting in their desks diligently taking their vocabulary exams. She was amused by watching their faces: some kids whizzed through the exam while others stared at the paper with a look of hopelessness. When one boy with short, spiky brown hair tried to stretch his neck to look at the paper of the girl next to him, Hikari sighed and called out his name.

"Keep your eyes on your own paper, Kiyoshi."

The young boy instantly looked up and blushed, only to glare down at his paper right after.

"Sorry, Ms. Yagami," he mumbled under his breath. Hikari couldn't help but smile. Even though a few students were mischievous, she sometimes favored them more. They reminded her of her brother. Especially Kiyoshi...that child practically had Taichi's toothy smile and wild hair.

"You all have five more minutes, start checking over your test," Hikari paused to smile at Kiyoshi, "or in some of your cases, start making final guesses."

Kiyoshi pouted and grumbled again as he stuck his head in his left hand, and feverishly wrote with his right. Hikari tried not to chuckle, and glanced at the clock hanging above the door. Boy, the school year was only a few months in, but it felt as if time was already flying by. Hikari figured it was probably because of everything that was going on at home.

Hikari recalled everything that had happened since the school year has been in session. Miyako started dating Ken, Yamato had made a guest appearance at the apartment, Jyou and Jun seemed to really be hitting it off, everyone had attended Yamato's wedding to the daughter of a wealthy manager, and she and Takeru had become public with their relationship.

She noticed her cell phone light up and instantly smiled when she realized who she received a text message from. Another thing that had happened during the school year: Daisuke Motomiya had became the school gym teacher.

_'I'm going to be late for lunch, I promised a kid I'd help him with his soccer skills. Don't wait up for me!'_

Hikari was proud of him. As of recently, he started complaining less and less about his job...he was starting to love it, even though he wouldn't admit it. It made her happy to know that Daisuke was finally finding a place where he felt content.

"Ms. Yagami?" Hikari instantly looked up at the young girl with pigtails smiling shyly at her, "I finished my test."

Hikari glanced at the clock before smiling warmly at the girl and taking her exam. When she scurried back to her seat, Hikari stood up from her desk and cleared her throat.

"Okay, kids, time's up! Come hand in your tests before you head to the cafeteria."

All the children stood and filed up in a line to hand in their exams. As each child handed in their test, Hikari counted them just to make sure everyone returned their papers. Last, but not least, was poor little Kiyoshi. He looked shamefully at his teacher.

"Ms. Yagami...this stuff is too hard. When am I ever going to use these words, anyway?"

Hikari laughed, "Kiyoshi, did you even study for this test?"

The young boy blushed and shook his head, trying to butter her up with his big eyes, "No..."

"Then of course this is going to seem hard. Why didn't you study?"

The boy shuffled his feet before ranting, "Well, you see, I was about to reach level ten on 'Donkey Madness', and couldn't just stop playing. And once I reached level ten, I was so excited that I kept playing till I reached level eleven...and then I got excited again-"

"I understand," Hikari stated with a laugh, "Well, Kiyoshi, if you fail this test, I'm going to have to send a letter home to your mother. Do you want that?"

His eyes glared at the table, "No..."

"Well, next time you want to play 'Donkey Madness' instead of studying, think twice."

The young boy groaned and turned on his heel to exit the classroom.

Hikari stood up, "You're a smart boy, Kiyoshi, I know you are. With a little bit of studying and hard work, I think you could be one of the smartest boys in class."

This caused the seven-year-old to turn his head and look up incredulously at his teacher.

"Y-You really think so, Ms. Yagami?"

"Yup. But it won't just happen over night. You have to work hard everyday, you understand?"

He grinned in that way that reminded Hikari of Taichi, "I understand. I'll see you later, Ms. Yagami!"

Hikari waved as he ran out of the classroom and towards the cafeteria. She chuckled to herself before exiting the room. Children really knew how to brighten up her day. Hikari walked over to the classroom next to hers and asked the teacher inside to watch over her room as she went to stop by the gym.

Hikari was excited to check up on Daisuke at the gymnasium. Hopefully he wasn't beating the child to death...

Hikari walked down the halls towards the gym. As she reached the door, she opened it and poked her head in through, smiling as she watched the pair. Daisuke was standing in the middle of the gym while a young boy stood in front of a portable goal on the other side.

"Now look, kid, the only way to stop the other team from scoring is if you give it your all. You're the goalie, you have the most important job. If you're scared of the ball, then you're going to let your team down!"

A timid boy with glasses looked up frighteningly at Daisuke.

"I know, Mr. Motomiya...b-but the ball moves so fast. I don't know how to block it."

Daisuke grinned, "It takes some practice, but you usually just have to just jump into it head-first."

The boy stared at him with confusion.

"What I mean is, you have to just throw your body towards the ball and give each dive one hundred percent effort."

"B-But what if I get hurt."

Daisuke scoffed, "Look, kid, there's no use fearing pain. Sometimes you're gonna get hurt, and sometimes your not. You have the most important job on the field. Do you want to let your team down?"

"No, sir..."

He smiled, "Then believe in yourself. I know you can do this. Now, get ready. I'm going to kick the ball really hard towards the other side of the net, and I want you to try to block it, okay?"

He nodded cautiously and pushed up his glasses.

Daisuke grinned, swinging his whistle behind his neck.

"I'll count to three, okay? One...two...three!"

With that, Daisuke pounded the ball with his foot and sent it flying towards the goal. The young boy jumped towards it, but didn't quite make it to the ball. The ball hit the net with a 'swish'. Daisuke smiled and ran up to the young child.

"Good job, buddy!"

He got up and stared at the floor, ashamed, "What do you mean? You scored the goal."

Daisuke knelt down in front of the little boy and put a hand on his shoulder.

"No one said that you were gonna get it on the first try. You know why I'm proud of you?"

He shook his head and tried not to let the tears spill from his eyes. Daisuke grinned and patted him on the back.

"I'm proud because you dove for the ball. That's the first step. Soon, you'll be blocking the ball like a pro!"

The boy looked up at him hopefully, wiping his tears.

"Do you mean it, Mr. Motomiya?"

"Of course I do! You have to practice, though, okay? And don't ever be afraid of the ball! The worst it'll ever do to you is bruise you up, but that's nothing a little man like you can't handle, right?"

The little boy smiled and jumped up, "Right!"

Daisuke laughed as his glasses became crooked on his nose. Daisuke fixed them and stood up.

"Alright, kid, I'll see you tomorrow. Go head off to lunch."

He smiled and said 'goodbye' as he ran off to the exit. It took Daisuke a couple seconds to realize Hikari was standing by one of the doors, beaming.

"How long have you been there? I told you not to wait up!" Daisuke called, scratching his head. Hikari walked over to him and laughed.

"You're getting great with these kids, Daisuke. I'm really proud of you."

"Aw, you mean it?" he asked with a grin, placing both hands behind his head. Hikari shook her head with a laugh, poking him playfully in the stomach.

"Yes, but don't let it make your head any bigger."

Daisuke pouted before speaking, "Yeah...these little rugrats are really growing on me. So how's your day so far?"

Hikari shrugged her shoulders, "It's alright. Mr. Kiyoshi was giving me a little trouble during his vocabulary exam today."

Daisuke laughed, "Hey, you leave Kiyoshi alone, he's my little soccer star."

Hikari rolled her eyes. She'd almost forgotten how similar Kiyoshi also was to _Daisuke_. Great. Another little bushy-haired, bad-tempered, out-spoken soccer star in the making. Before Hikari could reply, they were interrupted by a voice:

"Oh, Daisuke."

Both Hikari and Daisuke turned when the sing-songy voice of Bianca entered the gym. She was wearing skinny jeans with a tight designer sweater, and a pair of sunglasses stylishly placed on her head so that her raven hair was out of her eyes. Daisuke instantly grinned as she made her way over to the him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Hikari stood there awkwardly, not knowing where to look as Bianca placed her lips on top of Daisuke's. A sudden spark ignited in Hikari, and she tried not to let her face show any animosity.

"What're you doing here, Bee?" he asked incredulously. Hikari tried not to roll her eyes at the lame nickname.

"Nothing, I was in the area and thought I'd drop by to say hello," she explained with a sultry smile. Hikari coughed to get their attention and smiled genuinly at the girl in front of her.

"You're more than welcome to join me and Daisuke for lunch, if you'd like," Hikari offered politely. Daisuke's face lit up and he looked at the girl in his arms, again.

"Yeah! Come eat with us," he pleaded. Bianca smiled at Daisuke's puppy eyes before turning back to Hikari with a look of attitude on her face, which caused Hikari to furrow her brows.

"I was actually thinking of having lunch _alone_ with Daisuke...if you know what I mean," she hinted with a wink. Hikari blushed and cleared her throat, understanding perfectly what Bianca meant. It made Hikari bite her lip.

"Aw, sorry Bee, but I've already made lunch plans with Hikari."

Bianca's head snapped back to Daisuke and she raised her brows.

"Is that so?"

It seemed that Bianca was waiting for Hikari to cancel her lunch plans with Daisuke just so Bianca could steal him...but to Hikari's surprise, she wouldn't let herself do such a thing. She wasn't about to let Daisuke waste his time with this girl. Something about Bianca made Hikari's skin crawl. Besides, Hikari wanted to have lunch with Daisuke. It was their daily routine.

"Maybe I can meet up with you for dinner?" Daisuke offered.

Bianca was not pleased. She pulled herself away from Daisuke's hold and crossed her arms, "I'm not free for dinner. I'm going to Hitomi and Yamato's apartment for their housewarming party."

"Wow, nice to know that we were invited," Daisuke grumbled sarcastically as he glanced at Hikari, which made the brunette the chuckle. Bianca noticed this exchange between the two friends and pursed her lips. She felt a weird connection between the two.

"So, are we having lunch or not, Daisuke," she asked, trying to get his attention, but Daisuke frowned and sighed.

"I already told you, Bianca, I have plans. And I can't really leave the school, right now, the next gym class starts in forty minutes."

Hikari tried not to smile triumphantly. It seemed as if poor, obnoxious Bianca would just have to leave the school empty-handed. Bianca noticed the small smile on Hikari's face and squinted her eyes as she pushed her sunglasses down, as if to make a statement.

Before any of them could say anything, another person entered the gym.

"Hikari?"

The Yagami girl turned at the sound of her name and scrunched her brows at the man walking towards the trio.

"Takeru? What're you doing here?"

He grinned as he walked up to her, pecking her on the cheek before putting an arm around her comfortably.

"Nothing, my editor gave me an extended lunch break, so I just came to say hi. One of the teachers said you were here so I figured you came to see Daisuke."

Takeru turned when he mentioned his other friend's name and greeted Daisuke warmly. Takeru then turned to Bianca and also greeted her. After that, all four people stood awkwardly in the gym, waiting for someone to say something. Takeru glanced at each of them and wondered why everyone seemed so tense.

"Did I miss something?"

Hikari blushed and looked at the ground. She was feeling uncomfortable because of the whole situation. Just moments before, she was secretly hoping that Daisuke would keep his plans to have lunch with her...and now Takeru was here, probably wanting to spend time with her, as well.

Daisuke became quiet as he glanced between Hikari and Takeru. He'd never really became comfortable around the couple...especially since Takeru didn't know about certain 'things' that had happened between him and Hikari in the past.

Bianca just glared at all of them through her sunglasses. All she'd wanted was to come spend lunch with Daisuke, but she was getting a weird feeling from Hikari; Bianca had quickly felt as if she was interrupting something between the two teachers...but, wasn't Hikari with Takeru? Then an idea came to Bianca's mind and she quickly grinned, clapping her hands together.

"Well, Daisuke, now that Takeru's here, he and Hikari can spend lunch together while me and you spend lunch together. Look how perfectly this works out!"

Daisuke sighed, "Yeah, I guess it does work out..."

"Perfect!" she exclaimed before latching onto Daisuke's arm and dragging him in the opposite direction.

"Bye, Takeru, it was nice seeing you!" she called, purposefully not acknowledging Hikari. Daisuke smiled and waved at both of them before letting Bianca take control.

Takeru raised a brow and turned to his girlfriend, "What was that all about?"

Hikari tried to ignore the churning in her stomach, and the deep feeling of guilt in her heart.

"I have no idea..."

* * *

"So, you've been sleeping over Ken's apartment a lot, nowadays, huh?"

Miyako coughed in fright as she turned to see Sora smirking from her room doorway. This only caused the red-head to grin and clasp her hands together.

"I knew it! You guys finally did 'it', didn't you? That night two weeks ago when you didn't come back home."

Miyako blushed and quickly searched her mind for something to say as she changed out of her business-casual attire.

"Sh! I don't want everyone knowing!"

Sora laughed, "Don't worry, Miyako, Mimi and Hikari aren't home yet. Besides, if you were trying to be slick about the whole thing, then you were terrible at it."

Miyako smiled before Sora spoke up again.

"Why didn't you tell any of us? I thought you'd jump at the chance to inform us of _this_," she asked with a sly smile. Miyako shrugged her shoulders and sat down on her bed, trying to hide a blush.

"Well, I told Hikari, only because we promised not to keep secrets from each other. I was going to tell you and Mimi one day, I swear, but I didn't know how to bring it up!"

Sora chuckled and leaned against the doorframe, "Miyako, you never have a problem bringing things up. You barely have a filter for what comes out of your mouth, anyway."

This caused the lavender-haired girl to redden even more. She should have known that Sora sensed something was off. If there was anyone more sensitive to matters of the heart, it was Sora.

"I-I just didn't want to jinx it..."

Sora scrunched her brows as Miyako continued.

"You see, everything with Ken is going so perfectly. I was scared that if I I told you guys and obsessed over everything...that something would go wrong, like it usually does."

Sora gazed at the girl sympathetically and sat down on Miyako's soft bed, right next to her, as Miyako continued to speak.

"I'm getting a lot better with my insecurities, trust me! But, no matter what, the insecurities will always be there...like a stained wall that you try to cover up with wallpaper: No matter how beautiful the wall looks afterwards, you know there's still that ugly spot behind the wallpaper."

Miyako had a nag for saying profound things when the time called for it. She wasn't always that ditzy geek she came off to be, and Sora knew that very well. Miyako had come from a large family with six siblings. The only way she ever gained attention from her parents was by speaking up. That was the birth of her fiery personality. But, Sora knew that there were deeper insecurities at work.

Pain can bring about beautiful things. For Miyako, the pain from her past 'relationships,' made her an avid dreamer and cautious lover. However, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that things were going to work out with Ken, she still kept her expectations of their relationship low...she didn't want to get hurt, again. Sora smiled gingerly and put a hand on Miyako's shoulder.

"Don't let your insecurities keep you from being happy. Trust me, Miyako, you deserve to be happy. You have a great guy who treats you like a princess, and you have a stable career. I know your past makes you hesitate from celebrating, but try to remember how giddy you were the first time you met Ken. You were sitting around all day waiting for his phone call," Sora paused to chuckle, "you were on cloud nine every time you came back from a date, hoping he was thinking about you just like you were thinking about him."

Miyako listened and pursed her lips.

"Just because your relationship is getting more serious and personal, don't lose that blissfulness. If any of us deserve it, Miyako, it's you. It's your turn to be happy, so don't keep yourself down."

Miyako instantly teared up and turned to Sora to crush her in an embrace.

"I'm so lucky to have a friend like you!" the younger girl sniffed and rubbed her eyes behind her glasses, "thanks for keeping me in check."

Sora laughed as she pulled away and shook her head.

"Don't thank me. I owe all of you after your support for Yamato's wedding."

Miyako scoffed as she dabbed her eyes again, "Shut up. You don't owe us anything. You're acting like it was a chore for us to care for you."

Sora sighed, looking at the floor.

"We all have some complicated lives, don't we?"

Miyako grinned, and her mood quickly changed. That was the best thing about Miyako. One second she'd be bawling in tears, and the next second she'd be beaming like the sun.

"Well, it sure keeps things interesting," she stated, before pushing up her glasses. Sora laughed again and got up, motioning for Miyako to follow her.

"Come on, I'll grab us a quick snack, and you can tell me all about your steamy relationship with Ken," Sora winked. Miyako laughed and stood up enthusiastically, finding herself excited to explain details to Sora.

The two of them walked out of Miyako and Hikari's room and headed for the kitchen where Sora quickly pulled out some junk food. Both girls gathered the contents in their hands and headed out the swinging door to the round dining table.

"So, how _is_ Detective Ichijouji in bed?" Sora asked with a mischievous grin. Miyako laughed, ready to explain, until there was a knock on the door. Miyako groaned as she quickly went to open the door. When she looked through the peephole, she pouted and turned to Sora.

"Looks like details are gonna have to wait till later." With that Miyako opened the door and greeted Taichi on the other side. He returned the greeting and walked into the apartment, still wearing a scruffy suit because he'd just gotten back from work. Taichi's attention quickly turned when he noticed a particular object of affection on the round dining table:

"Are those chocolate covered pretzels? Damn, I haven't had those in a while!"

Sora rolled her eyes at the fact that food got Taichi's attention quicker than she did. The ruggedly dressed man made his way over to the dining table and sat down next to Sora, digging his hands into the container.

"Wow, you almost sound like Daisuke," Miyako explained with a snort, sitting back down on her chair and pulling the container away from Taichi. The bushy-haired man pouted.

"Come on, I won't finish them, I promise! I don't inhale food like Daisuke does."

"You could've fooled me!"

Sora decided to interrupt their small bicker and nudged Taichi.

"So, did you hear about your promotion yet?"

This caused his cheerful disposition to turn solemn, and he sank down in his chair, "No."

Miyako raised a brow, "Wow, how much longer is your boss going to keep torturing you? It's been four months!"

"I don't know, but it's really making me mad. He's got me working like a mad man, but won't do anything in return. Next week he wants me to stay at the office until 8 p.m. everyday," Taichi explained, crossing his arms. Sora sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm sure the rumors aren't completely false, Taichi. If there's talk around your office that your boss is picking someone for the promotion soon, then just wait patiently and do as he orders."

Taichi rolled his eyes, "So, you're telling me to work even more extra hours and not get paid sufficiently for it?"

"Yes, I am. It'll pay off one day, trust me."

Miyako nodded in agreement, "Just you wait. You'll be rolling around in money before you know it!"

This, however, didn't raise Taichi's spirits. He just stared at the table in front of him, deep in thought. Miyako pouted when her efforts to cheer Taichi up failed...so she did the one thing she knew would brighten his day.

"Pretzel?" she offered with a smile, holding out the container. Taichi looked up and grinned, greedily sticking his hand into the container and pulling out a few chocolate covered treats. Sora laughed and also grabbed a pretzel, and just as Miyako was about to say something, her phone started to ring. Her face instantly brightened as she saw Ken's name illuminate on the screen.

"Excuse me, guys, I'll be right back." With that she quickly rushed into her room and shut the door behind her.

There was silence. Except for the slight mumbling on the other side of the room door, the main room was quiet.

Taichi glanced at Sora and she cautiously stared back. They both, then, turned their heads slowly to the closed door of Miyako and Hikari's bedroom, trying to make sure it was indeed shut.

Within a few seconds, both bodies pushed back their chairs as they stood, and passionately kissed each other. Taichi's hands roamed Sora's back as she clasped her arms desperately around his neck.

"God, I missed you," Taichi muttered softly between kisses. Sora nodded and pressed her body closer to his, causing him to sigh.

"I missed you, too. I thought no one was going to be home, but Miyako got off early today."

They continued their session by the dining table, trying not to be too loud. Taichi's thumbs traced the skin under the hem of Sora's blouse as he held her hips, and Sora tried to repress a moan.

"This isn't a very good idea...Miyako could walk out any second," Sora explained softly, before pressing her lips against his again. Taichi to chuckled.

"You should've thought about that before you threw yourself at me."

This caused Sora to completely stop and push her head back as Taichi leaned forward again, "Me? _You_ definitely threw yourself at me."

Taichi grinned, "Call it even?"

Sora rolled her eyes and smiled before placing her lips softly on his, following his rhythm. The kiss was slow, and they both pulled away after a couple of minutes, but Sora never unclasped herself from Taichi's neck, and he never let go of the hold on her waist.

"So, how was work?" he asked, pecking her lips again. Sora shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing new. Kara's fall runway show is coming up, so she's got me and Noriko flying around like worker bees. On a bright note, though, she asked me for my opinion on a couple of her sketches. I think she's really starting to like me."

"Well, who wouldn't like you?" Taichi stated with a lop-sided grin.

Sora chuckled in suspicion, "Stop sucking up to me."

Taichi smiled, but then quickly looked down at the floor. Sora raised an eyebrow and nudged him. She knew by his last comment that something fishy was going on. Even though Sora and Taichi had taken their friendship to another level, they still talked to each other like they always have. They weren't the mushy type, and they were never going to be.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked with concern.

Taichi let out a deep breath and tried to give her puppy eyes. It was a waste of energy, though, because those eyes never worked on Sora. She'd become immune to them over the years.

"Well, don't get mad..." he mumbled.

Sora sighed, loving the direction this was going in.

"What did you do, Taichi?"

"Nothing! Well, not 'nothing, but, you see...since you haven't had the guts to say anything to-"

Before Taichi could finish, the front door nob started to jiggle and they both quickly glanced at each other with fear before separating themselves, sitting back down at the dining table. They'd both become professionals at acting as if nothing had happened.

Mimi walked through the door with a solemn look imprinted on her face. She was dressed in her waitress uniform with her honey hair held back in a ponytail, not noticing that Sora and Taichi were sitting a few feet from her. When she looked up and caught their gazes, she instantly blushed; especially at Taichis...

She greeted both of them timidly before walking to her shared room with Sora and closing the door behind her. Sora stared at the closed door with bewilderment before it all hit her...and the last words Taichi had said to her quickly boiled in her blood. She snapped her head back in Taichi's direction and glared at the sheepish grin on his face.

"I'm going to kill you."

"Well, gotta go!" With that, Taichi quickly ran for the door.

Sora groaned before whispering desperately, "I can't believe you told her!"

Taichi shut the door rather loudly and Sora turned anxiously to the closed door of her room. She couldn't believe that Taichi told Mimi about their recent escapades! What was Mimi going to say? Was she ever going to talk to Sora again? Sora clenched her fists: Taichi was going to pay for this. Sora had wanted to be the one to tell Mimi...Mimi probably hated her right about now.

Sora mustered up some courage and shakily walked towards her room. She slowly grasped the door nob and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. It was now or never. She turned the nob and pushed the door open.

Mimi had changed out of her uniform and was wearing a pair of yoga pants and a pink tank top, her hair still in a messy ponytail. She was gathering some stuff for her class at the local university in a couple of hours. Sora closed the door behind her, sweating uncomfortably in her business pants and blouse.

"Meems...a-are you okay?" she croaked, not knowing what to say as she stood by the door. Mimi sat down on her bed with her shoulders hunched as she stared at the floor.

"I can't believe it, Sora..."

Sora's heart pace quickened, "Mimi, I'm so sorry-"

Her head quickly snapped to Sora's direction and she raised a fine brow, "You knew?"

This caught Sora off guard, "...what? Mimi...o-of course I knew...I mean-"

"Why didn't you tell me, Sora!" Mimi groaned and shoved her face in her hands, "I completely embarrassed myself in front of Taichi."

Sora slowly walked to Mimi's bed, sat down, and put a hand on her shoulder cautiously.

"Mimi...I'm so sorry, I wanted to tell you, but..." Sora's throat tightened as tears pressed against her eyes. Mimi removed her hands from her face and looked at Sora sincerely.

"Aw, Sora, don't cry..." she stated, hugging her tightly, "I'm not mad at you...Taichi's your childhood best friend. I guess I understand."

"R-Really?" Sora asked incredulously as Mimi pulled away. Wow, Mimi was taking this a lot better than Sora thought she ever would. Mimi smiled solemnly and nodded.

"Taichi told me he wanted it to be a secret."

Sora shut her eyes tightly and bit her lip.

"Well, I wanted it to be a secret too..."

Mimi glanced at her with confusion and stood up, "What, why?"

"I didn't want you to be hurt."

Mimi rubbed her temples and shook her head, "Sora, I know you had good intentions, but I would've rather known so I wouldn't have looked like an idiot in front of Taichi!"

"I know, Mimi-"

"_God_, I'm so stupid! I should have known...no wonder Taichi was being weird with me these past three weeks. He's been dating someone from his work!"

Sora's head shot up and she gaped at Mimi, "...what?"

Mimi started pacing the room, "Sora, I'm _so _dumb! I called Taichi at work today, asking if he wanted to come eat lunch with me, and he blatantly told me that he was having lunch with this girl from his building. Some girl he's interested in," Mimi turned to Sora with an innocent sadness in her eyes, "But, since you knew about this...do you know the girl?"

Sora took a few seconds to soak everything in. Taichi didn't tell Mimi about their escapades...Taichi lied. He told her that he was seeing someone from his building. Wow, what an asshole, he could have gave Sora a better heads up!

"Sora?"

Sora cleared her throat, "I-I don't know her..."

"Taichi never told you who she was?"

"...No."

Mimi groaned and sat back down on her bed, "I swear, if it's that Catherine girl, I'll punch Taichi in the face."

Sora's stomach churned and she pursed her lips. Should she just tell Mimi the truth? She was angry as it was, anyway...and now was a perfect opportunity. Taichi had been pressing Sora to confess to Mimi, but Sora always chickened out. Sora guessed that Taichi was tired of trying to dodge Mimi's affection.

Sora's phone vibrated, and she quickly looked down to see that she'd received a text message from Taichi. Sora quickly opened her phone and read it as Mimi lied down on her bed with a groan.

_"Look, I told Mimi I was dating someone from work. I couldn't take it, Sora, I felt terrible for her. I know _you_ want to tell her the truth, but you're taking way too long. She's gonna be even more hurt the longer you wait. If you won't be mature about this, then I will. Next time, I'll really tell her the truth."_

Sora bit her lip and stared at the message for a couple more seconds. She knew he was right...

"I'm so upset, Sora. You were right. I shouldn't have waited this long to tell him the truth...now I've lost him. Ugh, I'm so angry! I know it's my fault because I was a coward, but if I ever find out who this girl is, I'll knock her out!"

Mimi couldn't see her face, but Sora's eyes widened. Mimi was really resentful...why couldn't Sora just come right out and say it? Why couldn't Sora just say the truth? Her phone vibrated again, and she looked down to see that she'd received another text from Taichi.

_"Sorry if that last message seemed harsh. I didn't mean it!"_

Sora smirked. He was too scared of Sora to do anything against what she wanted. Sora turned to look at Mimi and bit her lip. For some reason...right now didn't seem like the right time to tell Mimi the truth. Sora wasn't ready...

Part of the reason was because she didn't want to break Mimi's heart...but Sora slowly started to realize that the other part of the reason was because she wasn't ready for everyone to publicly know about her and Taichi. She wasn't ready for that kind of relationship...Sora bit her lip. Like Miyako, Sora had many insecurities herself, ever since Yamato Ishida stomped on her heart.

_'But, no matter what, the insecurities will always be there...like a stained wall that you try to cover up with wallpaper: No matter how beautiful the wall looks afterwards, you know there's still that ugly spot behind the wallpaper.'_

Sora was scared the wallpaper would peel off...and that ugly spot would be out in the open once again.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: So, here's the next chapter! I had a lot of fun writing this one, so I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for all the reviews, they really make my day. :) Ah, one more thing I wanted to say! So, my whole point with this story is that I'm trying to show the reality of social relationships. I think I like exploring people's actions and consequences, so I really strive to be as realistic as I can with some of their choices (based on their actual characteristics from the show, and with the things that have happened to them in my story). So before you start to despise anyone (coughSORAcough) try to remember that they're human and still at a more naive age than you would think, haha. But, I love hearing opinions so don't hesitate to leave yours in a review! Okay, sorry for the obnoxiously long Author's Note. Enjoy :)

* * *

Despite the growing sadness resting over Mimi's heart, the young waitress realized something very important: it had been a long time since everyone had come over for dinner. The last time the whole gang sat at a table together was Mimi's birthday...and to put it blatantly, Mimi doesn't remember most of the awful night. It was three months ago!

So, Mimi decided that it was time for a big family dinner, and she went to the grocery store after her shift at the restaurant to pick up some items for the grand feast. As Mimi walked through her apartment door, she sighed and dropped off her grocery bags in the kitchen. It didn't seem like anyone else was home.

Mimi's thoughts started to trail to Taichi, and her heart clenched as she imagined the bushy-haired man. She'd been beating herself up for waiting so long to tell Taichi the truth, and now she'd lost him. Everyone was right, but she'd been too big of a coward to do anything about it.

Mimi quickly shook her head and tried to rid herself of her thoughts. She wasn't going to keep bumming around because of it. She either had to move on...or have hope; have hope that he wouldn't last with whoever he's with now. Mimi mulled over those two choices for a few seconds before grinning in determination. She was going to keep hope.

As Mimi started to wash vegetables, she quickly realized that she hadn't informed everyone about her idea for tonight. She dried her hands on her apron before exiting the kitchen through the swinging door. She almost jumped in surprise when she saw Hikari sitting at the round dining table.

"Hikari! When did you get here?"

"I just walked in a few minutes ago," she explained with a chuckle, straightening out her school-appropriate attire, "Sorry I scared you."

Mimi waved it off and smiled. She must have been too deep into her thoughts to have noticed the sound of the door opening.

"You know, Hikari, I was thinking. We haven't had a big family dinner in a while. I was thinking of having one tonight."

Hikari beamed, "I think that's a wonderful idea, Mimi. Did you invite everyone over yet?"

"No, I'm about to right now."

Hikari nodded, "Do you need help with anything? Cooking?"

"No, I'm fine for now," Mimi stated with a smile, "I'm going to the boys' apartments to invite them over. I'll be back in a second."

With that, Mimi exited her apartment and closed the door behind. Before she could proceed, she realized that she didn't want to knock on Taichi's apartment door. What if he was home? She couldn't face him. Mimi shook her head and glared at the door across the hall. She had to stop being a scared. Being a coward was how she lost Taichi in the first place.

She marched right up to his apartment door and knocked loudly; much louder than she'd initially wanted to. She heard footsteps scurrying on the other side, and within a few seconds, Koushiro opened it. Mimi tried not to sigh of relief.

"Hi, Mimi. What can I do for you?" he asked, inviting her into the apartment with a warm smile. Mimi's tension immediately relaxed when she looked around the apartment and found no trace of Taichi. Hopefully she wouldn't have to face him until dinner.

"Taichi's not home yet. He's going to be at his office for a couple more hours," Koushiro explained knowingly, sitting down on a stool by the counter. Mimi blushed and turned to look back at him.

"T-That's not why I came."

Koushiro smiled and waited politely for her to continue. Mimi sighed and made her way over to the stool across from Koushiro on the counter. She rested her elbows on the tabletop and placed her chin on top of her hands.

"Do you have any plans tonight?"

Koushiro chuckled, "Even though it's Friday night and I should have plans...no, sadly, I don't."

Mimi grinned, "Well now you do! Come over tonight for dinner. I was thinking of having a big family meal since we all haven't had one in so long."

"Sounds like a great idea. Are you cooking?"

"Of course! Who else would?"

"Then, of course I'll be there," he affirmed, trying not to blush as he spoke. This made Mimi beam, and notice his attire. Koushiro was wearing a button down grey shirt with black dress pants. Mimi remembered how Koushiro had changed his style a couple months back, and smiled warmly.

"We haven't talked in a while, Koushiro, I miss you. You're too busy for me now!"

"I've always been right here," he chuckled, "You're the one in your own world."

"Yeah, that's true..."Mimi sighed and tried not to think about Taichi, "So, how's Keiko doing? I haven't seen her since the last time we went to that club."

"She's doing well," he stated brightly. Keiko had really grown on Koushiro. He never thought that he'd actually develop feelings for her, especially because he'd harbored feelings for the girl sitting across from him for a year.

"That's wonderful. You can invite her to dinner tonight, if you'd like," Mimi offered kindly. Koushiro smiled at this. She had such a sincere heart. Some people might of thought of her as a spoiled brat, but Koushiro never considered her one. Mimi had a knack for proving people wrong.

"That's nice of you, Mimi, but I think it would be better if we just kept it with our friends. We all have a lot of catching up to do."

Mimi nodded profusely, "We do! I barely know what's going in your life, Koushiro, and I haven't talked to Jyou in a week. Iori's always at the library, and I only see Takeru when he comes to the apartment to see Hikari. It's so sad how distant we've all become."

"Yeah, everyones immersed in their own lives. So, how are your culinary classes going at the university?"

Mimi sighed and slouched forward, running a few fingers through her hair. Koushiro tried not to stare at the top portion of her body as she changed her posture. Her waitress uniform was conservative, but Mimi always found it necessary to keep some of the top buttons of her dress open. It made Koushiro sweat.

"It isn't how I imagined it to be at all. I thought classes would be exciting and fun...but what actually happens is they lecture us for two hours, and then let us cook basic things for only an hour. Some of the instructors are overly-critical and stuck up, too...I just can't stand miserable people. If you want to be miserable, then _fine_, be miserable, but don't try to take me down with you!"

Koushiro chuckled as she finished her rant and gave her a reassuring nod.

"Well, you've only had a couple of classes so far, right? Wait a few months, I'm sure it will pick up."

Mimi pouted, "I hope so. I'm really tired of being a waitress."

"You'll be out of there in no time."

Before either could say anything more, Daisuke trudged into the apartment and greeted both individuals warmly. Koushiro tried not to sigh with disappointment now that his chat with Mimi was over.

"How was work, Daisuke?" Mimi asked the young boy. Daisuke shrugged.

"Nothing special. Bianca came to have lunch again-"

"That's great, so want to come over for dinner tonight? Family dinner?" Mimi asked with a sheepish smile, not wanting to hear about Bianca. The whole gang had met her on the many occasions she came to see Daisuke, and no one could stand the girl. How Daisuke tolerated her was a mystery to everyone.

"Uh, yeah, I have nothing to do tonight," Daisuke responded with a grin, "Should I go buy us some liquor?"

Mimi rolled her eyes, "No, we're not drinking tonight, Daisuke. It's going to be a nice, peaceful dinner."

"That sounds boring," Daisuke retorted with another grin.

"Well, too bad, the only thing I'll allow is wine," Mimi paused to smile slyly, "and since you offered to buy us liquor, I'm sure you won't mind pitching in to buy the wine."

Daisuke groaned and trudged to his room, mumbling something as he spoke. Koushiro couldn't help but smile at Mimi's melodious laugh.

* * *

"Hey, Sora, you have a visitor," Noriko stated as she walked back to her desk across from Sora's, packing up her things for the end of the day. Sora raised a brow and turned around to see her best friend leaning against the door frame, smiling at her.

Something fluttered in her stomach.

"What're you doing here?" Sora asked with a grin. Taichi laughed and shrugged his shoulders, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I felt like taking you home."

"And how do you plan on doing that when _I'm_ the one with the car," Sora asked with a playful smirk. Taichi offered a lop-sided grin and she tried not to laugh.

"Well, if you let me drive your car, I would _technically_ be taking you home, wouldn't I?"

Sora couldn't hold in a chuckle, "My building is completely out of your way, Taichi, you didn't have to come all the way over here to take me home." This caused him to roll his eyes.

"Would you just finish gathering your things? Sheesh."

Noriko watched their exchange and cleared her throat to get Sora's attention. Sora turned to glance at the younger girl and quickly tried to suppress a blush as she straightened out her new business dress.

"Oh, sorry, Noriko. This is Taichi, he lives in my building."

Noriko smiled brightly and introduced herself to him. Taichi chuckled as he walked up to her, and shook her hand politely.

"You know, I'm also Sora's best friend, but I guess she forgets that sometimes," Taichi added with a smirk in Sora's direction. The red-head just rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Sora's been telling me all about you."

Sora blushed and Taichi grinned playfully.

"Oh, she's been talking about me? That's nice to know."

"Okay, Noriko, we're gonna head out. I'll see you on Monday," Sora interrupted, pulling Taichi away as Noriko giggled and waved to the both of them. When Sora closed the door behind them, she hit Taichi with her small stack of folders.

"Ow!"

Sora smiled, "Serves you right."

"Why, what did I do?" he asked with a laugh as they walked out of the building and towards Sora's car. She dug into her purse and threw him the keys, careful not to drop her folders.

"I don't talk about you all the time, you know. I mention everyone to Noriko," Sora explained as she sat down in the passenger seat. Taichi chuckled as he strapped on his seat belt and turned on the engine. She noticed how handsome he looked in his button down shirt and dark dress pants. She tried not to stare.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it, Sor, I was just teasing."

She blushed, "I-I know that."

Taichi glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled.

"Did you really have to wear that dress today?"

Sora turned and gazed at him with a brow raised.

"What's wrong with it?" she asked as she quickly examined the printed material and straightened it out. Taichi grinned.

"Nothing. It's just a little inappropriate to wear to work, don't you think?"

Sora scoffed, "Why, because it's a dress?"

"No, because it's skin tight," he stated with over-exaggeration as he made a sharp turn which caused Sora to gasp, and grab onto his hand that was placed on the gear shift. Sora scolded him, but didn't move her hand off of his. When Taichi noticed this, his grin widened. Sora blushed and pulled her hand away.

"It's not that tight," she fought, bringing back the other topic as she cleared her throat. Taichi laughed.

"Remember when you hated wearing dresses? God, I miss those days. I wouldn't have to worry about guys looking at you."

"That was in middle school, Tai! That was ages ago," she paused to smile as she realized the last part of his sentence, "and you don't have to worry about anyone looking at me in my office. Most of the guys that work there are gay, anyway."

Taichi laughed as he skillfully pulled into their apartment complex's parking lot. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and handed them to Sora. When Sora went to take them from his hands, Taichi pulled her to him and kissed her perfectly on the lips. When they pulled away, Sora was blushing ferociously.

"...Stop doing that," she scowled playfully, pushing him back as he chuckled again. Why did he have to be such a good kisser?

"So, did you find out about your promotion yet?"

Taichi groaned as they both got out of the car and walked towards their building.

"I have no idea when we're going to find out. My boss is taking way to long to make a decision."

Sora bumped into him reassuringly and smiled, "You're worrying too much, and that worries _me_. You were never one to stress out about anything."

Taichi grinned knowingly, "Well, things change."

As they walked up the stairs, Sora thanked Taichi for coming home with her and walked into her apartment as he went to unlock his. When Sora entered the room, she smiled at the smell of food. Mimi was cooking something amazing, for sure.

Sora put her folders on the small dining table and pushed the swinging door to enter the kitchen. Mimi was wearing a pink apron over a pair of jeans and a fancy pink cardigan.

"What's the special occasion?" Sora asked as she put a hand on Mimi shoulder and glanced at what she was cooking on the stove. Mimi turned with a grin and hugged her before going back to her food.

"I thought it was time for a well deserved family dinner, so I've been cooking up a huge meal for all of us," she explained, pushing some stray cinnamon hair behind her ear as the stove sizzled.

"That's a great idea!"

"Yup, I haven't told everyone, though, but I'm sure the news will pass along. It's a Friday night, so hopefully no one's made plans," Mimi explained with a smile. Sora crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"We're a pretty lame group of people, I'm sure no one has any real plans...except maybe Daisuke with Bianca," Sora explained as she stuck out her tongue in disgust. Mimi laughed.

"Yeah, I made sure with Miyako, too. We all know how much she likes to stay over Ken's place on Fridays," Mimi explained with a wink which made Sora laugh, "But, she's free tonight. Apparently Ken's working the night shift at his department."

"Good, I'm sure if Miyako's free tonight, then everyone's free."

* * *

People started shuffling into the girls' apartment around seven-thirty. Takeru was the first to walk in with platter of cookies that he picked up on his way back from the Tokyo Press building. He pecked Hikari on the lips before hugging each girl individually, complimenting them sweetly.

Daisuke, Koushiro, and Taichi all came in next, and the whole room suddenly became very loud. It was probably because Daisuke and Taichi were in the same area, greeting everyone and fooling around as they did so. Mimi awkwardly hugged Taichi as he came to the kitchen to greet her, but tried very hard not to make eye contact. Taichi noticed this and looked down with guilt.

"Yo, Meems! I got the wine, where do you want me to put it," Daisuke asked with a grin as he also hugged Mimi. Mimi let out a sigh of relief. She was glad that Daisuke came to greet her with Taichi so she wouldn't have to awkwardly stand next to him alone.

"You can just put it on small dining table for now, Daisuke. Sora went to her room to grab the larger table, and when that's assembled, you can just put the wine on there," Mimi explained. The girls had a disassembled dining table that was boxed under Sora's bed. They put the table together whenever they had events with a lot of people attending. It wasn't anything fancy, but it sufficed once it was put together.

"We should probably help her put it together, Daisuke, there's not much we can do in the kitchen," Taichi explained with a chuckle. Daisuke agreed and both men went through the swinging door, leaving Mimi by herself. She wasn't going to complain, though. It was better than having Taichi near her. When Koushiro walked into the kitchen as they exited, Mimi sighed in relief again and grinned as they hugged.

"You always know exactly when to make an entrance," Mimi explained as she stirred the contents in the pot. Koushiro knew she was referring to the awkwardness of Taichi being in the kitchen moments before, and smiled.

"I guess I just have a knack for it."

Outside in the living room, Jyou and Iori finally walked in, both with tired looks on their faces. Everyone greeted the two warmly, knowing that Jyou and Iori had it the worst when it came to their careers.

A couple minutes passed and everyone had split into little groups. Hikari was talking to Iori, asking him about his classes as they sat on the couch, and Jyou was in the kitchen with Mimi and Koushiro, trying to help out best as he could. Mimi found it entertaining to watch Koushiro and Jyou trying to work simple tasks in the kitchen. Koushiro was uncomfortable as he used a big knife to cut some vegetables, and Jyou was just a klutz, dropping everything all over the place. Mimi laughed at the whole sight.

Takeru watched in amusement as Sora, Taichi, Daisuke, and Miyako tried to put together the long, makeshift dining table. Even though they'd put the table together so many times in the past, chaos always ensued when people tried to reassemble it. Takeru figured it was because the instructions were so complex, and a few nails and screws were definitely missing from the set.

"_No_, you're using the wrong screw, Sora, how many times do I have to tell you!"

"Look, if you think you know what you're doing, then give _me_ the instructions, and you put it together!" she retorted with a glare in Taichi's direction. Taichi returned it and handed her the paper before snatching the screw driver from Sora's hands.

"Ouch, Daisuke, you're such an idiot!" Miyako screamed as she held her toe in pain. Daisuke rolled his eyes as he picked up the table's plastic leg that he accidently dropped on her foot.

"Calm down, this thing weighs like half a pound. Stop being a baby!"

Miyako scoffed exaggeratedly, "Well, then why don't you see how it feels!"

She grabbed the leg from his hands and threw it onto his foot, which made Daisuke curse in pain.

"You're crazy!" he wailed with a glare, sitting on the floor as he nursed his foot.

"And you're an insensitive jerk!" she insulted as she crossed her arms stubbornly.

At all yelling from the four individuals, Hikari and Iori stood up from the couch and walked over to Takeru. The three of them watched as the other four constantly bickered with each other to assemble the table.

"...should we help them?" Iori asked softly to Hikari and Takeru.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm not trying to get involved in that mess," Takeru explained sheepishly, grinning at his girlfriend and roommate. Hikari laughed in agreement.

"Yeah, why don't we move the couch, TV, and coffee tables to make room for the table, whenever it gets assembled."

The two men nodded and the three of them walked back to the couch to move it against the wall in the corner. By some miracle, the table was finally assembled and Taichi grinned in triumph.

"See, now if _Sora_ was assembling it like she was before, it would have never been standing."

Sora glared and punched his shoulder. This caused Daisuke to grin and nudge Miyako.

"Well, if Miyako wasn't such a baby, whining about her toe, we could have assembled this thing without a headache."

Taichi laughed at Daisuke's remark when Miyako also glared, "Yeah, girls, seriously. Just go in the kitchen and help Mimi."

"Shut up, Taichi, stop being such a jerk," Sora stated, marching away from him. Miyako agreed and stuck her tongue out to both men as they laughed even more, following Sora.

Another half hour passed by as Mimi finished up the preparations on the meal, bringing it out to the long table which was placed in the center of the room as Sora, Miyako, and Hikari set the plates and utensils. All of the boys went to bring in some chairs from their own apartments, since the girls only had the four chairs that were a part of their small dining table.

Soon, everyone was sitting around the long table, chatting happily with whoever they sat next to. An air of comfort flooded the room, and even though so many of them had things to worry about, whether it be relationships, jobs, or family, they all forgot all their worries and tried to enjoy their night.

Taichi opened the bottles of wine and went around the table pouring everyone a glass. After they were all filled, Mimi smiled as an idea came to her. She motioned for everyone to quiet down, and when the room silenced, she smiled beautifully to all of them.

"I just wanted to thank you all for being there for me. I know I've only lived here for a little over a year, now, but you've all welcomed me in as if I was a good friend...and I really do consider each and every one of you my family now," Mimi paused to raise her glass, "So, I wanna make a toast to _us_. No matter how tough this year is, and no matter what gets thrown at any of us, I want us all to stay together forever. So...here's to best friends."

Daisuke grinned and raised his glass higher, "And here's to finding a place in the world."

"To love," Takeru added, glancing fondly at Hikari.

Hikari laughed at this and raised her glass, "To stupid secrets."

"To letting loose," Jyou stated with a grin. Everyone chuckled at this before Miyako raised her glass.

"To overcoming insecurities," she said adamantly with a smile. Sora nodded in agreement and followed.

"Here's to reality," she stated. Koushiro chuckled to himself and also raised his glass to Sora's statment with an, "Amen."

Taichi grinned and raised his glass, "Well, here's to getting that promotion!"

Some people laughed and others groaned at Taichi's inability to say something serious. Iori smiled from his seat and raised his glass to that.

"Yeah, here's to passing law school."

Another fit of laughter rang throughout the room before Mimi stood up with a smile.

"Here's to being a family!"

They all cheered and clanged their glasses with as many people as they could before taking sips of their wine. It had been far too long since they all felt connected. For people like Iori and Koushiro, this dinner helped them rediscover that they weren't as lonely in their homes as they thought they were. For people like Miyako and Hikari, this dinner helped them rediscover the friends they had besides their significant others. Mimi decided that this was one of the best dinners to date.

As everyone finished up their meals, and finished their last glasses of wine, all the girls got up to start cleaning. The whole gang helped to clean up in their own way. Koushiro and Iori wiped and disassembled the table as Daisuke and Taichi started moving the couch and tables back to where they originally belonged. The girls were with Takeru and Jyou doing dishes and putting away extra food.

People started piling into the living room as they finished their jobs. Taichi, Daisuke, Koushiro, and Iori sat on the couch as everyone else came and sat on the floor. Mimi handed mugs of coffee and bowls of ice-cream to whoever wanted before grinning.

"Guys, I have an idea! Let's play a game."

Most of the group groaned and shook their heads.

"Come on!" Mimi exclaimed, "It'll be fun. Ooh, let's play spin the bottle!"

The room groaned yet again.

"Mimi, we aren't thirteen year olds!" Jyou exclaimed with a chuckle. Mimi rolled her eyes.

"You know there's a different way to play, right? Whoever spins the bottle can ask the person it lands on any question they want, which that person must answer truthfully! Come on, it'll be fun."

Everyone glanced at each other, but stayed silent until Daisuke spoke up.

"I don't mind playing," he stated nonchalantly, taking in a spoonful of ice cream. Hikari and Miyako agreed, shrugging their shoulders.

"You know, there _are_ things I've been wanting to know about some of you," Taichi explained with a mischievous smile that made some people uncomfortable.

Takeru laughed, "I think it sounds like fun."

Mimi grinned excitedly as she ran to the kitchen and grabbed the closest thing she could find that was a bottle: a bottle of soy sauce. She walked back into the living room and told everyone to get into a circle. Taichi and Jyou moved the coffee table out of the way as everyone started forming a circle on the floor.

"Well, I guess I'll go first since this was my idea," Mimi stated with a sly smile. She spun the soy sauce bottle in the middle of the circle. Everyone stayed awkwardly silent until it came to a stop and pointed to...Jyou.

Jyou's face reddened and he sighed, crossing his arms as people laughed. Mimi put a finger to her face and thought of what she wanted to ask. When she made up her mind, she grinned at the older boy.

"Tell me something about yourself that you're too embarrassed to tell anyone!"

Jyou scoffed, "No! I'm not telling you anything."

"You have to! Come on, it won't leave our circle," Mimi stated, winking suggestively. Jyou's face reddened even more and glared at the floor. The last thing he wanted was for anything to get back to Jun.

"Oh, come on, Jyou, stop being such a wuss," Taichi snorted from next to him, hitting Jyou's back with a grin. Jyou glowered at him.

"Okay, fine! But...this doesn't leave any of us, okay?"

"Alright, Jyou, fine. I promise I won't tell Jun," Daisuke stated as he bobbed his brows. A few people chuckled as Jyou's blush deepened.

"Okay...so, the most embarrassing thing that I can think of is...the fact that I slept with a night-light in my room until I graduated high school."

A few people bust out into laughter, including Daisuke, Taichi, and Takeru.

"That's it?" Mimi asked with a pout.

"What do you mean, 'that's it'? That's pretty embarrassing!" Jyou spoke loudly, glaring at Taichi who was next to him, trying to hold in another laugh after he made a comment about 'monsters coming out at night.'

"Okay, now it's my turn," Jyou snapped, planning to get revenge. He spun the bottle and everyones laughter died down as it spun. When it landed on Daisuke, Jyou grinned and pushed up his glasses. Daisuke cursed.

"So, Daisuke, tell me something in your life that you regret."

Everyone got a little awkward when they realized that the question was a bit personal, but Jyou knew that Daisuke was too simple minded to think of anything deep. Daisuke thought about it for a while then blushed, looking down at the floor.

"You guys are gonna think I'm the biggest asshole!"

"No, we won't, this is a 'non-judging circle,'" Sora added, smiling to Daisuke from across the circle. Daisuke sighed.

"Alright, so in college, I was taking this business class that was impossible. The night before one of my exams, I realized how screwed I was for it, and this one exam determined my grade for the semester," Daisuke stopped and noticed how everyone was listening intently now, "Well, there was this nerdy girl who was in my class, and she lived in the room right next to me in our dorm building. I kind of...seduced her and slept with her so I could cheat off of her during our exam."

Daisuke said the last part quickly, but everyone heard it and stayed silent for a couple of seconds. Soon, half the group was dying of laughter while the other looked at Daisuke disapprovingly.

"Oh, Daisuke..." Koushiro stated with a roll of his eyes.

"You're a pig!" Miyako added.

"You go, man, that's what I would've done, too!" Taichi added, crawling across the circle to share a high five with his roommate. Takeru was laughing profusely next to Daisuke and shoved him a little bit, tears filling his blue eyes.

"Daisuke, I asked for something you _regret_, not something you're proud of!" Jyou glowered.

"I do regret it! I regret it because I ended up failing the exam anyway because she had a different version than I did. I had sex with her for nothing!"

This statement had Takeru almost on the floor, clutching his stomach, while Sora and Hikari grinned wildly. Iori and Koushiro looked at each other since they were sitting next to one another, and rolled their eyes. Typical Daisuke.

Daisuke grinned and spun the bottle next. He beamed when it landed on Miyako, who quickly moaned and hit her head.

"I _would_ have to answer a question from you. Alright, lay it on me," Miyako ordered with a sigh, mentally preparing herself for whatever Daisuke was going to throw at her. He grinned and scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"So, how many boyfriends have you actually had?"

"You're such a jackass!" she yelled, turning red.

Daisuke put his hands up in defense, "I've always wanted to know."

Miyako crossed her arms and glared at him.

"...seven. I've had seven failed relationships, okay?"

"Woah...really?" Jyou asked cautiously. Miyako glared.

"No, I made it up just to embarrass myself," Miyako stated sarcastically. Sora quickly went to her defense.

"It's alright, Miyako, sometimes you have to dig deep to strike gold," she stated with a wink. Mimi laughed and nodded her head.

"It's true! I mean, I'm pretty jealous of the relationship you have with Ken now, so who cares about all the other guys that didn't work out!"

Miyako smiled at them and sighed, "Yeah, Ken's a great guy."

The whole circle seemed to nod with agreement. Miyako glared at Daisuke and mouthed, 'I'm gonna get you,' as she spun the bottle. Daisuke gulped, not wanting to answer another question.

The bottle spun and landed on Iori. Iori sighed and shook his head. Back in the day, Miyako and Iori were pretty good friends, but since he started law school, they both had lost touch. That meant one thing...Miyako was very curious about Iori's life and was going to ask a personal question.

Miyako clapped her hands together excitedly.

"So, I've been dying to know! Are you and that Noriko girl official yet?"

Iori blushed, "...no, we're not. I just started seeing her, Miyako..."

"You should just ask her out, Iori, what do you have to lose?" Takeru stated with a grin. Iori glanced at the floor awkwardly.

"I agree with Takeru," Jyou added quickly, looking at Iori with a strange hint in his eyes. Iori glanced at the man he looked up to and blushed under Jyou's scrutiny. He almost forgot that Jyou was the only one who knew about his affair with Akina.

"She's been interested in you for a while, Iori. Trust me, I know," Sora explained with a laugh that instantly caused Taichi to look up and smile. Iori blushed and cleared his throat.

"I guess I'll have to think about it..." he stated before reaching for the bottle and spinning it, trying to get the attention off of him. The bottle stopped and pointed to Sora. Sora moaned in response and waited for Iori to ask a question.

"Um...what's the most dangerous thing you've ever done?"

Sora bit her lip and looked at the ceiling as she raked her mind of anything that would fit Iori's question.

"Well, the only thing I can think of is the time I skipped school with Yamato and Taichi for a whole week my senior year of high school."

Taichi scoffed, "Come on, that's the most dangerous thing you've ever done? That's not even close to being badass."

"Well, sorry, I don't like getting in trouble," she explained as she crossed her arms. Hikari laughed and poked her brother on the shoulder next to her.

"Not everyone's as bad as you are, Taichi. I was terrified to skip school when I was in high school."

"Good," Taichi stated as he crossed his arms over protectively, "I wouldn't let you skip school, anyway."

Hikari sighed, used to the double standard that Taichi put on her. A few people chuckled at their conversation.

The game continued for a while longer. Secrets came out quickly, and most of them were laughable. The group had found out that Takeru had a big crush on Hikari in high school, but never said anything because he didn't want to step on Daisuke's toes. Everyone laughed and didn't notice the awkward glance between Hikari and Daisuke.

Koushiro, who had been a star student throughout his years in school, had failed gym class when he was in high school due to the fact that he never participated and was terrible at sports. A few people teased Koushiro innocently, but he was quick to notice how Mimi grinned and found it adorable. He tried not to blush at her comment.

A couple more spins went by. Everyone learned that Taichi almost got kicked off his college campus after pulling the fire alarm in his dorm building as a prank, Iori used to have a blanket that he carried around with him till grade school, and Miyako had once followed one of her boyfriends home whens she suspected him of cheating on her.

To some people's surprise, Hikari had never dated anyone until after she graduated college. She explained that a couple of men were always interested, but she didn't feel that any were right to keep as a boy friend. Takeru grinned at this and crawled over to kiss her on the cheek.

Now it was Hikari's turn to spin, and everyone whooped when it landed on Mimi. She hadn't had to answer a question all night because she was lucky enough to never to have the bottle land on her. Everyone urged Hikari to ask Mimi something good.

"You always tell me that you were spoiled when you lived with your parents, but you never explain how 'spoiled' you actually were. So, explain!"

Everyone agreed and waited for Mimi to answer. She blushed and fidgeted with her long hair.

"Well, I used to spend...about, um, a couple thousand dollars every week?" she thought, asking herself. Everyones eyes bulged and she blushed when she noticed.

"Damn, Mimi, I think it's great that you're living your own life now, but I would have _never_ left my parents place if they were that rich!" Daisuke explained. Mimi fidgeted some more with her hair and looked down. The rest of the girls got quiet since they knew the reason why Mimi had left. Mimi still wasn't ready to tell everyone, though...she never wanted to bring up her past.

"Daisuke, you're parents _own_ a noodle company, they're just as rich," Taichi pointed out, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, but they wouldn't let spend any of their money like that! Don't you think I thought about that already? They wanted me to make my own money, or work for the business."

"So, what did you buy with all that money?" Jyou asked curiously, changing the topic back to Mimi. Mimi shrugged

"I don't know...clothes and shoes, mostly. Okay, I don't wanna talk about it anymore! I'm a changed girl," she stated with a smile before grabbing the bottle and spinning it. She watched the bottle revolve until it came to a stop...in front of Taichi. Her heart skipped a beat. Everyone in the room became silent.

"Why does that bottle always point to me! This is the fifth time," Taichi explained sourly, trying to cut the tension as a few people chuckled to help him. Mimi bit her lip and looked at the carpet. There was so much she wanted to ask him, but she didn't know what would be appropriate. She so badly wanted to ask about the girl Taichi was dating from work...but he had told her that he didn't want everyone to know about her just yet. Well, since everyone was mostly talking about their pasts, Mimi decided she wanted to know some of Taichi's.

"So...who was your first kiss?"

Ten pairs of eyes looked at Taichi and waited for him to answer. Sora was particularly interested in this question, and she analyzed her best friend as a blush formed on his cheeks. This made everyone curious, because Taichi was never one to blush.

"Wow, come to think of it, I don't even know who the girl is," Daisuke explained, rubbing his chin. Koushiro nodded in agreement and raised a brow in Taichi's direction.

Taichi cleared his throat and thought to himself for a couple more seconds, staring at the floor. Everyone waited eagerly.

"It was Sora."

The whole room turned to the red-head in shock and Sora quickly stiffened. Had she heard it correctly? Was Taichi lying?

"No way!" Daisuke screamed.

"When did it happen?" Jyou asked.

"Sora? Why didn't you ever tell me?" Miyako queried as her mouth hung agape.

All Sora could do was glance at Taichi and then at Mimi as everyone asked their questions. Mimi looked hurt and Sora quickly turned to glare at Taichi. She didn't know why she was so angry with him.

"What are you talking about, Taichi? How could I be your first kiss, that doesn't make sense."

Taichi continued to stare at the ground before shaking his head.

"Woah, dude, you have to tell us the story now," Daisuke stated with a grin. Miyako agreed eagerly, sitting up on her knees to listen. The room got silent as everyone waited for Taichi or Sora to explain. Sora noticed the sour look on Mimi's face and bit the insides of her mouth. Why would Taichi say this in front of everyone?

"Well, I don't know what he's talking about, so I guess _he'll_ have to explain," Sora stated spitefully. Taichi looked up at her and glared. Sora's heart fell. Taichi rarely looked at her like that.

"We were only six years old. It was during Christmas, and my mom decided to throw a family party, remember? Your family was invited because my mom considered you guys a part of our family. We were running around the living room, pretending to play soccer because my mom wouldn't actually let us play in the house. I don't remember exactly what happened, but somehow, me and you were stuck standing under mistletoe, and our mothers and fathers kept nagging at us to kiss. So, yeah, we did. Do you remember now?"

The room was silent yet again, until Miyako burst out with an 'aw!' After that, everyone started clamoring.

"That's so sweet!" Hikari teased, poking her brother's ribs.

"Damn, Taichi, getting girls at the age of _six_? You're my hero," Daisuke announced, which earned him a shove from Miyako and another session of rolled eyes from Koushiro and Iori.

"Guys, calm down, please. It's not that big of a deal, they were only six," Jyou defended, noticing the awkwardness between Taichi and Sora that he guessed was happening because the two were close friends, and the idea of them doing anything physical like that was uncomfortable. If only Jyou knew the truth...

"Yeah, it's really not," Taichi added, clearing his throat, "I was just answering the question. It really didn't mean anything, and we both were disgusted by it, anyway."

Everyone laughed.

Mimi glanced at Sora and then back at the floor, "So, you don't remember it at all?"

Sora looked at Mimi's face and answered her truthfully, "No, I don't."

Sora guessed that the answer was enough to make Mimi feel a little better, because she smiled genuinely at her. Sora then realized that she was digging herself into a big hole...

Sora glanced at Taichi and noticed the stiff look on his face. He was not happy. Sora wasn't happy about the situation, either. Why would he mention that story with everything that was going on between them? Especially because they were so young when it happened and Sora didn't even remember the story. This situation could have easily been avoided.

Taichi sighed and quickly spun the bottle, trying to get the focus off that topic. When the bottle landed on Daisuke, Taichi's face instantly lit up.

"Yes! I was hoping it would land on you."

Daisuke looked at him warily.

"So, remember my 21st birthday party? You disappeared for the whole second part of the night. I was looking around for you, I can't remember why, but I couldn't find you anywhere. So tell me, where were you?"

Daisuke's eyes widened and he stuttered, not knowing what to say. He looked in every direction except in Hikari's.

"I-I was in the bathroom...you know-"

"Oh no, don't lie to me. I know you were with a girl, who was it? She must have been special for you to have missed my party," Taichi added with a grin. Daisuke started sweating, and he didn't know what to do.

Hikari sat in her spot, but her heart was beating wildly. She knew Daisuke wasn't stupid enough to say anything...he wouldn't dare. Hikari looked at Takeru's face, who was sitting right next to Daisuke. He was smiling, amused by the whole situation. Hikari prayed that the truth wouldn't come out.

"It was some random girl, Tai, seriously. I don't remember," Daisuke stated, scratching the back of his head. Taichi rolled his eyes.

"I can tell when you're lying, Daisuke, and you wouldn't have missed my birthday just for some random girl. You're a pig, but you're not a bad friend," Taichi paused to grin, "And I think you drunkenly told Yamato at some point that you spent the night with some 'special' girl, and Yamato, of course, came and told me."

This made Daisuke feel incredibly guilty, and he tried not to look Taichi in the eye.

"Wait, Taichi, you're 21st birthday party? The one you had at one of you're teammate's house?" Miyako asked. Taichi nodded his head.

"Oh my god, that night was crazy! Don't you remember, Hikari?" Miyako asked with an oblivious smile. Hikari sat straighter, faking a smile.

"Yeah, it was so crazy."

Then, Miyako scrunched her brows and looked at the floor with her arms crossed. Hikari hoped she wasn't putting the pieces together.

"Come to think of it...Hikari, you were missing most of the night, too! I was looking all over for you, and started freaking out when you were no where to be found. Wow, that's so ironic, both you and Daisuke were missing-"

Miyako cut herself off as her eyes widened, realization hitting her. The room became silent as everyone put the pieces together. Daisuke hit his head and tried not to shove Miyako as Hikari sat speechless. Hikari didn't know what to say. She knew she had to say _something_ quick. She watched as Takeru's look of confusion turned to realization.

"Oh, I had gone back to our dorm, Miyako, don't you remember?" Hikari asked lamely. Miyako was stunned and didn't say anything. When she noticed the pleading look on her best friend's face, however, Miyako cleared her throat and tried to cover for her.

"Oh yeah, how silly of me to forget. You went back to-"

"You were with my _sister_?" Taichi yelled aggressively, glaring daggers at Daisuke and putting the truth out in the open. The whole room became silent and Hikari's eyes quickly filled with tears as she watched Takeru's head snap in Hikari's direction. The only word to describe the look on his face was pain.

"Taichi, I-" Daisuke started.

"What the hell were you thinking? Sneaking off with my sister on my _birthday_!"

Daisuke was about to reply in defense until another voice spoke up.

"Is it true?"

Everyone turned to Takeru, who was gazing at Hikari with anger. A tear rolled down her face and for the first time in his life, Takeru didn't want to wipe it away.

"Takeru, I'm-"

That's all he needed to hear. There was no denial in her voice. God, how could she not tell him? Now, he looked like such an idiot in front of everyone. With that, Takeru stood up forcefully from his spot on the floor, not even acknowledging Daisuke who was right next to him. He marched out the door and slammed it behind him. Hikari sat in her spot for a second before wiping her eyes and running after him.

As the door closed a second time, everyone looked awkwardly at each other. Taichi, on the other hand, was giving Daisuke the look of death, which the younger boy couldn't ignore.

"Tai, just let me explain-" Daisuke stated as he stood, holding his hands up in defense. Taichi shook his head and got up, as well.

"You're dead."

With that, Daisuke jetted out of the apartment, as Taichi chased after him. Koushiro and Jyou moaned, knowing that they would have to be the ones to pull Taichi away from Daisuke.

After all that, it seemed that the perfect family dinner had definitely come to an end.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! :) So, I had a terribly hard time writing this chapter, I don't know why, but I hope you all enjoy it as much as the last one. Not too many characters appear in this one, but I'm just setting things up for the next few chapters. Read and review, like always!

* * *

The night was very much over after Takeru stormed out of the apartment, and Taichi chased Daisuke out the door. After Jyou and Koushiro had successfully pried Taichi away from terrified younger man, Daisuke quickly ran to his room and locked the door out of fear for his life. When Koushiro persuaded Taichi to calm down and go to sleep, he also had forced himself to rest after, of course, convincing Daisuke it was safe to unlock the door to their room.

Jyou had walked back into the girls' apartment and waited with the girls and Iori for any sign that Takeru and Hikari were done talking in their apartment. When Hikari shamefully opened the door and marched to her room, everyone knew that the couple's talk did not go well.

After Jyou and Iori went back to their place to talk to Takeru, all the girls tried to console a weeping Hikari, but she didn't want to talk to anyone and just wanted to go to sleep. So, after she had finally simmered down, the rest of the girls glanced at each other and decided there was nothing more to do than to sleep, as well.

Morning rolled around, and half of the gang woke up blissfully while the other half cursed to themselves. Sora's eyes fluttered open as she turned in her bed. She glanced to see if Mimi was still sleeping and raised a brow when she noticed that her roommate wasn't present. Sora rubbed her eyes groggily before pushing herself out of bed and heading for the bathroom in her pajama pants and tank top.

Miyako and Mimi were sitting at the small dining table chatting over cups of coffee. They both turned when they noticed Sora had woken up and greeted her as she walked towards the bathroom to brush her teeth. Sora noticed the way Mimi smiled solemnly at her. She had almost forgot the mini-situation that she had to fix since Taichi had brought up their apparent 'first kiss.'

When Sora walked out of the bathroom with a fresh smile, she made her way over to the dining table and sat down in an empty seat.

"Is Hikari still sleeping?" Sora asked thoughtfully, glancing behind her at Hikari's room door with motherly concern. Miyako nodded her head sadly and sighed.

"I feel terrible for her. She didn't sleep through most of the night, and I could hear her sniffling every now and then. I wonder if they broke up..."

The three girls stared at the table and thought to themselves. Mimi was the first to break the silence.

"I'm sure Takeru will forgive her for everything, it's not like Hikari cheated on him with Daisuke."

"Yeah, but I think he's more upset at the fact that Hikari didn't tell him what had happened," Sora added, lacing her fingers under her chin. Miyako nodded in agreement.

There was more silence until Miyako pushed up her glasses and spoke.

"I can't believe Hikari was with Daisuke that night. They both did an incredible job keeping it a secret," she stated sourly.

Mimi grinned, "Wow, what have I gotten myself into? When I moved into this apartment and became friends with all of you, I didn't expect _this_ many problems."

Sora and Miyako laughed at the witty tone of her voice, knowing that Mimi was just trying to prove the point that 'Hey, shit happens.' Sora sighed as their laughter died down and she thought about Taichi. He was in a bad mood after he had mentioned his first kiss, and that definitely fueled the fire when he had to let his wrath out on Daisuke.

"I hope Taichi didn't butcher Daisuke in his sleep," Sora stated jokingly. Miyako rolled her eyes.

"It only serves him right!"

Mimi didn't say anything, and turned to face her roommate.

"So, your first kiss was Taichi, huh?" she asked randomly, trying to come off as if she was teasing Sora, when in actuality, Mimi was blatantly envious. Miyako grinned when she remembered the sweet story and clapped her hands together.

This caused Sora to groan, "Look, I don't even remember it, okay? It's not that big a deal, can we just forget about it?"

"You know, Sora, you and Taichi would make a cute couple. I'd never really thought about it until now, but it would be such a cute love story!" Miyako swooned, gazing into the distance as if imagining a fairy tale. Sora tried not to blush and was about to protest until Mimi piped up.

"Stop, Miyako, you know that would never happen. Remember, Sora only see's Taichi as a brother," Mimi added, more as if she was trying to convince herself. Sora fidgeted under the table after that comment. There was no way she was ever going to refer to Taichi as her 'brother' after the _things _they've done. Miyako shrugged her shoulders.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, Mimi, I'm sure Sora will let you have him," she explained with a grin. Mimi blushed and looked away, not wanting to think about any of that. She'd already lost Taichi. As for Sora, she just wanted to get out of the room.

"Well, speaking of that idiot, I'm going to see if he's alright. Maybe I can convince him to ease up on Daisuke," Sora stated, quickly standing from her seat. Mimi smiled and also stood up.

"I'll come with you. When Taichi had found out about Hikari's relationship with Takeru, I was pretty good at calming him down."

Sora bit her lip. She really wanted to speak to Taichi alone so they could talk about everything that had happened last night, but Mimi's eyes looked so hopeful. A sudden jealousy rushed through Sora when she thought about what Mimi had just said. She quickly tried to repress it.

"No, it's alright, Mimi. I'll go talk to him, and why don't you get ready? I know how much you hate not showering as soon as you wake up," Sora stated lamely. Mimi scrunched her brows in confusion then sighed.

"Yeah, you're right. Let me know if you need my help," Mimi offered innocently as she walked towards their room to pick out a change of clothes. Sora felt as if she stabbed her best friend in the back and quickly exited the room without saying 'bye' to Miyako.

She tried not to think about Mimi as she knocked on the door to Taichi's apartment. There were too many things to worry about.

"Good morning, Sora."

Sora looked up to Koushiro's smiling face and greeted him as she walked into the apartment.

"So, how's everything here?" she asked with a concerned look. Koushiro sighed.

"Well, the two knuckleheads are still asleep, of course. So, nothing drastic has happened yet," Koushiro stated with an uncertain face.

Sora shook her head disappointingly, "All we wanted was a nice dinner. Why does everything always turn into chaos around here?"

"Too many hurtful secrets, I guess," Koushiro explained. Sora tried not to notice the pang of guilt that shot through her as she thought about her and Taichi. Speaking of Taichi...

"Well, I'm going to check up on the bigger knucklehead," Sora announced with a smile that caused Koushiro to chuckle, "I'll talk to you later, Koushiro."

With that, Sora trudged down the hallway and knocked on Taichi's door before opening it. What she saw shocked her: Taichi Yagami was awake bright and early on a Saturday morning, sitting at his desk and working on something from his office. He turned when he heard the door open and gave a half-smile to Sora before swinging back around in his wheeled chair.

Sora crossed her arms after closing the door behind her.

"Now, there must be something drastically wrong if _you're _up this early."

"I couldn't sleep," he explained curtly, his eyes never leaving his paperwork. Sora walked over to Taichi's bed and sat down as she watched his back. She knew he was still angry about everything from last night.

"Are you still mad at Daisuke?"

"Furious."

Sora sighed, "You know, it wasn't just Daisuke's fault. Hikari's a mature woman now, you shouldn't be so angry with her decisions. It wasn't like Daisuke raped her or anything."

Sora saw his back stiffen and she smiled, knowing that she finally had most of his attention. However, he didn't say anything or turn to look at her. Sora sighed and rubbed her eyes. The silence continued.

"How's Hikari?" Taichi finally asked with concern, his back still facing Sora as he continued writing.

"She didn't seem to be doing so well last night. I think she and Takeru got into a really bad argument."

"I don't blame him for being angry."

Sora looked down thoughtfully, "It's part of her past now, Tai. Takeru should try to understand that."

"Yeah, well Daisuke and Hikari shouldn't have kept it a secret in the first place. And, as much as I love Hikari, she should have told Takeru the truth...at least if she couldn't tell _me_ the truth."

Sora smiled, "Why would she ever tell you that she had a fling with Daisuke?"

He didn't respond, knowing that Sora was right. He hated when she was right. There was more silence, and Sora bit her lip as she thought about what she wanted to say, staring intently at Taichi's back.

"Taichi, I wanted to talk about what you said last night during spin the bottle."

She waited for him to say something, but he kept silent. Now, Sora was starting to get really suspicious and a little bit frustrated.

"Why did you bring that up? You might as well have told everyone that we're sleeping together now, after planting the idea in their heads with that story."

Taichi dropped his pen down forcefully and turned to glare at Sora. She only returned it.

"How could you not remember it?"

His statement softened Sora's gaze, "Is that why you're so angry? Because I didn't remember that kiss?"

Taichi gave her a strange look before turning his chair back around to his desk. Sora knew what he was trying to do. Busying himself with office work was the best distraction. He didn't want to talk about all this.

"Taichi, we were six. I don't even know how you remember that-"

"Well, it _actually_ meant something to me. I might have been grossed out by it at the time, but I never forgot it."

Sora looked down at the floor. She couldn't understand why Taichi was getting so worked up over a something so little. What they had now was much more intense then a forced kiss at the age of six. Sora sighed and laid back on Taichi's bed, staring at his ceiling.

"Why are we hiding this from everyone, Sora?"

Sora was startled by his question, and quickly thought about what to say. She honestly didn't know the answer herself.

"I...I don't think everyone would be comfortable with the idea of us together."

She heard Taichi stop writing, again, to let out a sigh. She waited for him to say something.

"I don't want to hide what we have like Takeru and Hikari did for seven months. I don't want to keep Mimi in the dark because it kills me to see her clueless and in pain. I just don't want to be a secret."

Sora sat up again, and gazed at his back. She couldn't see his face nor could she see the expression imprinted on it. Something in his voice sounded like he was pleading for her to understand. It was a tone she'd never heard before.

"I don't understand," Sora started with the shake of her head, "You never wanted anything serious with all those other women. If you were put in this situation with any other girl-"

Taichi turned around abruptly, "But you're not just 'any other girl,' Sora...you never were." He gazed at her with an expression that Sora couldn't read.

Her heart skipped a beat as he stared at her with his deep eyes. Taichi Yagami sure knew how to knock the wind right from her lungs. She shook her head and tried to shake off the goosebumps forming on her skin.

"I want you to tell Mimi the truth," he stated.

Sora looked up at him incredulously and only saw the stoic expression on his face.

"I can't..."

Taichi glowered, "And why not?"

Sora thought about it and looked down at his bed sheets sadly, "Okay, let's say I do decide to tell Mimi about us. What am I supposed to say, Taichi? That you and I have been hooking up since Yamato's wedding? Do you have any idea how bad that sounds?"

"Well, it's the truth."

"Is that what you want everyone to know us as? Just 'hooking up?'"

Taichi understood where she was going with this and looked at the floor as he turned his chair to fully face her. Sora sighed.

"What are we, Taichi? Where do we stand?"

Taichi glanced back at her and shrugged his shoulders, "We can be whatever you want, Sor."

"No, I don't want to decide-"

"Well, it really doesn't matter to me..." he trailed, gazing quickly at the floor. Sora knew he was lying.

"So, it doesn't matter to you, huh?" she asked sourly, standing up and straightening out her pajamas. Taichi looked up at her, startled, as she went to exit the room.

"Sor, wait-"

"You know what, Taichi, when all this _does_ start to matter to you, come and talk to me, okay?"

With that, she left the room and closed the door loudly behind her. Taichi stared at the door bewildered until he groaned and stood up from his chair to fall down aggressively onto his bed. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

Jyou had been peacefully dreaming and sleeping in until his rude girlfriend barged through his bedroom door and loudly woke him from his slumber. Jyou groaned and pulled his covers over his head only to have Jun snatch them down.

"Ugh, Jun, what are you doing here? It's ten o'clock in the morning, let me sleep. You know I barely get to nowadays-"

"Oh my gosh, pipe down!" she announced with a chuckle before crawling under the covers with Jyou, "Isn't a girl allowed to see her boyfriend whenever she pleases?"

Jyou blushed when he noticed Jun pressing her body against his backside.

"W-What are you doing?"

"Cuddling," she stated sweetly. Jyou cleared his throat before reaching for his glasses and placing them on his face. He completely turned his body to face Jun and chuckled at her big, brown eyes smiling at him. She batted her long eyelashes and Jyou couldn't help but smile.

"So, how was your family dinner last night?" she asked as she started twirling some of his long hair in her fingers.

Jyou groaned, "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Wow, that bad?"

"Well, no, it was actually really great in the beginning. Then by the end, everything went downhill..."

"Why?"

Jyou was about to explain until he realized that Jun was Daisuke's sister, and maybe Daisuke didn't want his personal life announced to Jun. Jyou smirked.

"I can't tell you, we promised that everything said would remain a secret."

"That's not fun! When do I get inducted into your little group," Jun asked with a pout that made Jyou want to wrap his arms around her tightly.

"You don't have to be inducted. You're an honorary member just by being Daisuke's sister," he explained, wanting to kiss her.

Jun rolled her eyes, "And you're girlfriend, don't forget," she added.

Jyou grinned, wrapping his arms securely around Jun's waist before closing his eyes. He really wanted to fall back asleep, but knew that Jun wouldn't ever let him.

"Jyou, I have to tell you something..."

This caused him to open his eyes and raise a brow at her insecure expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked, bringing his body closer to hers. Jun looked down at Jyou's sheets and started fidgeting with his comforter. This made Jyou a little more than nervous.

"I'm leaving in a month."

Jyou furrowed his brow, "What do you mean? Where are you going?"

"Well...to America."

Jyou sat up straight on his bed and shot her an incredulous look, "America? Why the heck are you going to America?"

Jun also sat up and held onto both of Jyou's hands. She was expecting this reaction, and quickly wanted to soothe him.

"Well, my classes end in about a month, and a few of my friends are going there for vacation. I've never been to America before, and have been dying for an opportunity to go!"

Jyou clenched his jaw. Jun knew that he didn't fancy her spontaneous and spunky lifestyle, but that didn't ever stop her from doing what she wanted. Jyou also had the feeling that she wasn't going to be gone for just a couple weeks of 'vacation.' He remembered Daisuke mentioning a while ago how she broke hearts this way...

"Jyou? Are you alright...?"

He forcefully snatched his hands away from hers.

"How long are you going to be on vacation over there? What are your plans once you get there? Who are you staying with-"

"Woah, Jyou, one question at a time," she paused to smile, but didn't receive one in return, "I'm staying with one of my friends for the first couple weeks."

Jyou waited for her to continue, but Jun looked down guiltily. He knew what this meant.

"How long are you staying there, Jun?"

"I don't know, okay? I'll figure it all out once I get there."

Jyou glared at her for a few seconds before pushing himself off his bed to put on a pair of pants over his boxer shorts. Jun sighed as she watched him aggressively move around the room. Neither of them said a word until Jyou spoke up.

"Are you going to break up with me?"

Jun gazed softly into his eyes and pursed her lips, "I haven't made up my mind about that, yet."

Jyou shook his head forcefully, "No, you tell me right now. I'm not going to be your play toy for the next month just so you can leave me."

Jun stumbled as she stood up from Jyou's bed and grasped his hands in hers.

"Come with me, Jyou! Come to America," she offered with a glint of hope in her eyes. Jyou stared at her incredulously.

"Are you crazy? I still have to finish my residency at the hospital. I can't just leave everything behind like you."

Jun sighed and moved in closer, looking down at their feet.

"I don't want to leave you behind, Jyou. For once in my life, I feel like I'm with someone I could be with forever..." she paused to gaze back into Jyou's dark eyes through his glasses, "but I can't give up my lifestyle. It's who I am, and who I always want to be."

Jyou felt a foreboding spread in his chest. He didn't want her to leave...she was the one person in his life that showed him that there was more out there than just being a doctor. She opened him up to an arraignment of possibilities. She opened his eyes.

"Well, then I'm sorry Jun," Jyou pulled his hands away from hers again, and shook his head, "If that's how you want to live your life, I can't be with you. Maybe this was destined to fail from the start."

Jun didn't give up. She brought her hands to his cheeks and kissed him softly on the lips. When she pulled away, his heart clenched at the sight of tears swimming in her eyes.

"Don't make me choose between you and my life, Jyou. Please don't make me choose."

His eyes softened for a minute as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face against the crook of his neck. He slowly brought his arms around her waist.

"You and I both know which one you'd choose," Jyou whispered softly. Jun didn't respond, and just sniffled into his neck. He bit is lip forcefully and shut his eyes. He knew that once she left, she'd be gone for a long time...

Jun pulled back and gazed into his eyes, "Can I be with you one more time before we say goodbye?"

Jyou looked at the ground and clenched his fists tightly on the fabric of her shirt. Finally, he passionately pressed his lips against hers as she pulled him back down to the soft cushion of his bed.

* * *

Miyako noticed the solemn mood enveloping everyone in her apartment. Hikari was still in bed even though it was well into the afternoon, Mimi was in the kitchen cooking up a storm to distract herself, and Sora was sitting on the couch quietly drawing some sketches in her pad. Miyako figured it was the weather. It had been raining nonstop since she woke up.

When did everyone's mood damper this badly? Miyako forced a grin and looked over at the couch from her seat at the round dining table.

"Hey, Sora. Do you want to go to the mall? The four of us should go and have fun!"

Sora didn't look up from her pad, "Sorry, Miyako, I'm not really in the mood today...maybe another time."

The younger girl pouted and rested her chin with defeat on the table. When Sora noticed the lack of response, she turned to Miayko and smiled softly.

"I know we're all in a grumpy mood today, Miyako, I'm sorry."

Miyako smiled back and shrugged it off, "It's okay. It's probably just the weather."

"Yeah, I guess."

Mimi walked out of the kitchen holding two trays of cookies. She placed them down on the round dining table and threw her oven mitts next to them with a grin.

"Now, whenever Hikari decides to pull herself out of bed, I'm going to stuff her mouth with these," Mimi announced as she picked one of the treats up from the tray and shoved it in her mouth. Miyako laughed.

"I don't think she's going to leave her bed for a while, Mimi."

The cinnamon-hair girl pouted and wiped the crumbs from her lips, "Did you find out what happened?"

"Yeah...I went to Takeru's apartment, but he had already left. Iori said he was going to the library to finish an article he's working on. Apparently, Takeru told Hikari that they should take a break from their relationship."

Sora tuned into the conversation and turned her head from the couch, "Well, that's not too terrible. That means that they're still together...somewhat. It's not officially a break up."

Mimi nodded, "Yeah, those two will work it out. I've never seen two people more perfect for each other in my life."

"I know, it's sickening," Miyako added with a grin. The older girls laughed at her comment.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door and Mimi quickly went to open it. Her heart fell when Taichi smiled at her sweetly. She didn't say much as she opened the door and allowed the bushy-haired man to enter their apartment.

"Hi, Taichi, what brings you here?" Miyako asked with a smile. She didn't get a proper response.

"Woah, cookies?" he exclaimed as he walked over to the table and reached out for one, but Mimi quickly ran after him and hit his wrist playfully.

"Oh no, don't you touch them! They're all for Hikari."

Taichi pouted, "She won't notice if one is missing."

Mimi glared and Taichi quickly shut his mouth, turning his head in the other direction. When he made eye-contact with Sora, he grinned sheepishly, but Sora didn't fall for his smile. She turned back around and continued to work on her sketches.

Taichi sighed as he walked to Miyako, "Is Hikari here?"

"She's in our room, but I wouldn't disturb her, Tai. She's been sleeping through the day since she couldn't sleep at night."

Taichi let out a defeated groan as he sat down at the round dining table next to Miyako. She smiled at him comfortingly. Mimi went back into the kitchen to bring out a cake that she had just taken out of the oven. She placed it next to cookies and smiled triumphantly.

"Man, if Hikari doesn't feel better after all _this_, then I don't know what else will work."

Taichi grinned at the bubbly woman, "It's so sweet of you to spend your time doing this for her, Meems."

She tried not to blush and quickly walked back into the kitchen. Taichi watched her go and sighed to himself. His attention turned when he saw Sora stand up from the couch and make her way over to the dining table to sit across from Taichi.

"How's Daisuke?" she asked abruptly, not wanting to talk to her best friend, but still concerned about the well-being of the younger man. Miyako glanced at Taichi expectantly and waited for an answer.

"He left the apartment under my nose. Koushiro said he went to go see Bianca hours ago."

The three individuals seated at the table all made faces in disgust at the mention of Bianca.

"What the hell does Daisuke see in her? She's the most irritating person I have ever met in my life. It's like she never grew out of high school."

Sora laughed and was about to respond until Mimi barged out of the kitchen through the swinging door and squealed loudly. Taichi, Miyako, and Sora all turned to Mimi with alertness, thinking that something was wrong. When they noticed the playful grin on her face, they all sighed.

"You scared me half to death, Mimi-" Sora started.

"Sora, I _completely_ forgot to tell you what I found out yesterday!" she interrupted as she winked mischievously to her roommate, "So, ever since I met up with Michael when you guys were at Yamato's wedding, we've been emailing each other back and forth, and filling each other in on our lives."

Sora narrowed her eyes disapprovingly at the mention of this, but Mimi waved her off.

"It's not like that! Anyway, listen to this. I told Michael about everyone, and apparently, Michael is really good friends with someone you know," she stated to Sora with another grin. Taichi and Miyako looked at each other with confusion while Sora waited for Mimi to continue.

"It's Willis! Michael knows Willis. Michael's parents own a house in America right next door to his family's, so whenever they go there for vacation, Michael and Willis occasionally hang out."

"What?" Sora asked with complete shock. Why was the world so damn small?

Mimi smiled as she jumped up and down, "Apparently Willis always talks about you, and is planning to come back to Japan just to meet up with you, again. Isn't that so romantic?"

Miyako stood up at this and grinned, "Aw, that's so sweet! A guy who barely knows you is coming back to take you into his arms and-"

"No," Sora stated swiftly, "tell Michael to make sure he doesn't come back here." Sora turned back around in her chair to glance at Taichi who was glaring at her spitefully.

"Why not, Sora? I know you're embarrassed because of what happened the first time you two met, but Michael swears Willis is a really great guy. He's not a scum bag like you think he is."

"Yeah, give him a chance, Sora! It would be good for you to start dating again, you know," Miyako added.

Sora watched as Taichi's jaw clenched and she pursed her lips in annoyance. Taichi was the one who said that everything between them didn't matter to him. If they were just sleeping around, then why did Sora have to worry about his feelings?

"You know what?" Sora started, turning back to Mimi, "You guys might be right. Maybe I'm being too tough on him."

Miyako and Mimi grinned at each other happily until Taichi finally spoke up.

"Yeah, you're right Sor, maybe you two should meet up so you can 'work your magic' on him again," he stated forcefully. Sora turned to glare at him. That was a low blow. He knew how much she hated the way that she behaved the night she slept with Willis. Before she could retaliate, however, Mimi quickly came to her aid.

"Hey, it's not like that, Taichi. I think Willis really likes her. Michael told me that he's never seen Willis so excited about anyone before." This caused Sora to shoot Taichi a smug look.

"Yeah, Tai, he genuinely likes me. Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because you slept with him without even _knowing_ him. Any guy would like you after that."

"You're one to talk! Like you don't sleep with girls you don't know all the time," she glared, and Taichi quickly shut his mouth. He glowered at the table and stood up loudly.

"Fine, you do whatever you want then. Now, I really don't care." With that, he turned towards the door and shut it loudly on his way out. Miyako and Mimi glanced at each other quizzically as Sora glared at the door.

"What was that all about, Sora?" Mimi asked hesitantly. Sora turned back to her friends and sighed, calming her anger as best as she could.

"I-I guess he's just mad about me wanting to talk to Willis...he doesn't like him very much after that whole incident."

Miyako nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah, Taichi's very protective of you. He treats you like another little sister."

Sora really wished they would stop saying that.

Speaking of Taichi's little sister, Hikari walked out of her room wearing long pajamas and a heavy heart. All three women dropped their conversation when their sweet roommate trudged out of the room with a sour look imprinted on her face, and an empty look hanging in her eyes.

"What a lousy day," Hikari croaked, rubbing her eyes as she made her way to the couch and sat down. The other three girls looked at each other before swiftly flying to Hikari's side. Mimi sat down on Hikari's left side and offered her a cookie.

"No thanks, Mimi, I'm not very hungry..."

Mimi pouted, "You haven't eaten anything all day. You must be starving!"

Hikari sighed and sunk herself into the couch cushions while Sora rubbed her arm soothingly, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

A brief silence enveloped the room until Hikari gazed at the floor solemnly, her clear hazel eyes in deep thought as she opened her mouth to speak.

"It was stupid, you know?" She started. The other girls listened intently, "The night that me and Daisuke-...It was stupid." Hikari glanced up at all her friends and shook her head as tears began to form.

"We didn't do anything drastic...I-I didn't sleep with him, it wasn't anything like that. The day of Taichi's party was a terrible one. It was the beginning of college and I wasn't used the change. Daisuke reminded me of home," she paused to wipe the tears from her eyes, "I'm such an idiot. I wish I just told Takeru."

"Well...why didn't you?" Miyako asked cautiously. Hikari gazed at the floor again.

"I didn't want him to look at me differently."

"So, why did he want to take a break?" Miyako pressed with a raised brow. Mimi shot her a look of uncertainty before focusing her attention back to Hikari. The younger girl didn't seemed fazed by the interrogation.

"He thinks that I have a lot to figure out...and maybe he's right," Hikari let out a frustrated sigh, "there's no doubt in my mind that I love Takeru, there's absolutely no doubt. I just-...he said that we're on different pages right now...I don't know, I'm so confused."

The Yagami girl shoved her head into her hands and fought to hold back the tears that had been threatening to spill out all day. All the girls moved in closer and comforted her the best they could.

"It's all going to work out, just you wait, Hikari. Somehow, it'll all work out..." Mimi explained, sighing as she closed her eyes. Sora and Miyako looked at the cinnamon hair girl and smiled. They knew that things always found a way to pan out into happiness.

* * *

"If my food's not done in the next ten minutes, I'm coming after you, Daisuke!"

Taichi tried not to snigger at his desk when he heard some pans crashing around in the kitchen before a fit of cursing.

"Don't worry, it's almost done!" Daisuke yelled back. Taichi swore he heard a yelp after the statement. Daisuke probably burned himself.

After his rendezvous with Bianca, Daisuke thought he could be slick and sneak back into the apartment without Taichi noticing. The older man, however, was waiting patiently at the counter until Daisuke walked in. Daisuke was greeted with a mischievous grin and a look of attack. He was about to run in the other direction until Taichi offered him a deal: Daisuke had to do whatever Taichi said, no matter what.

After some contemplating, Daisuke decided to give away his soul to his older idol. At first, he thought it would be a good way to get back on Taichi's good side...but now he was quickly starting to realize the price of his commitment.

Taichi, on the other hand, was just poking fun at the younger boy's fear. He had no intention of doing anything too drastic, but was clearly enjoying the hold he had over his younger roommate. He wasn't going to keep Daisuke as his slave for very long, though. Only for a couple of weeks...

Taichi tried not to grin at the thought.

When Taichi heard the door of his room open wider, he sighed exaggeratedly.

"Well, it's about time you finished. I'm starving-" Taichi stopped speaking when he noticed Sora standing in his doorway with a confused look.

"Are you torturing the poor kid?" she asked with a reprimanding look, which earned her a laugh from her best friend.

"Of course not. Just teaching him a lesson."

Sora raised a brow and closed the door behind her, "And what lesson is that?"

"To think twice before messing with my little sister and not telling me about it," he stated casually, turning around fully in his chair to face her, "So, what brings you here? Did you come to tell me you set up a date with that Willis guy-"

"I came to apologize..." Sora cut off with a blush, walking over to Taichi's bed and taking a seat. This caught him off guard and he sat up straighter in his chair.

"Apologize?"

"Yes, I'm sorry about forgetting that first kiss and forcing you to keep this all a secret. I'm also sorry about lashing out at you with Willis. I didn't mean it...I saw how Hikari's fling with Daisuke really ruined everything for her and Takeru, and I didn't want my short past with Willis to affect us."

"You do know that what happened between you and that kid is not on the same level as what happened with Hikari and Daisuke," Taichi paused to chuckle, "it's okay that you made a mistake, Sor. I'm not going to hold it against you."

Sora kept quiet as she stared at his sheets, beating herself up over the past. Taichi noticed her dampened mood and smiled.

"I'm sorry, too. You know I didn't mean it, right?"

Sora looked up at him with a bothered look which quickly made Taichi get up from his chair and sit down next to her, "This all _does_ really matter to me."

Sora returned a smile and shook her head, "So, we'll put this behind us?"

"Of course," Taichi stated, but Sora heard an odd strain in his voice. She knew that they still had a lot to talk about because they're conversation from the morning didn't really have closure.

She put a hand to Taichi's cheek and smiled affectionately at him, "I don't like when we fight."

"I kind of like it," Taichi stated with a laugh, "Keeps things interesting."

Sora scowled, "No, it doesn't! What, do you like being jealous? Maybe I'll tell Willis to come visit, then-"

"Okay, not like that," he interrupted sternly, "He's not allowed anywhere near you."

"And who are you to order that, huh?" She asked slyly. Taichi quickly sighed, not wanting to bring up that topic again, but Sora laughed before placing her lips perfectly on his. She loved the instant tingle that shot up her spine whenever his lips met hers. He kissed back softly until he heard Daisuke shouting his name from the kitchen.

"Taichi, you're phone's ringing!"

The best friends moved away as Daisuke's footsteps trudged to the door. The mahogany haired boy opened the door, wearing a pink apron that he borrowed from Mimi, and grinned.

"You're phone's been ringing, man. Guess who it is," he teased, bobbing his brows. Taichi raised a brow as Daisuke walked over and handed him the phone, "It's Catherine. Isn't she that chick you told me about? The one you nailed in your office late at night a few months back?"

This got Sora's attention rather quickly and Taichi glanced at her with a surprised and cautious look. The look on Taichi's face gave Daisuke his answer.

"Oh man, no wonder she's been calling you nonstop for the past five minutes. She probably misses you," he stated with a wink before puckering his lips playfully. Taichi gave him an irritated glare, and with a grunt, he pushed himself off his bed and started shoving Daisuke out the door.

Daisuke yelped as Taichi forced him out, "Come back when you're done with my food!" and with that, he slammed the door in Daisuke's face. Taichi quickly turned back to Sora who had her hands crossed at her chest and was staring at her best friend expectantly. Taichi was at a loss for words.

"'Nailed' in your office a couple months back? I think you failed to ever mention that to me, Tai."

"Look, I can explain," Taichi started, walking back over to his bed and sitting down, "It was way before me and you, alright? We had to work overtime, a-and Catherine kept coming over to my office-"

"Wow, and you were the one making me feel bad about the whole 'Willis situation' a few hours ago? You're such a jerk," she stated before shoving him lightly and standing from his bed.

"Sor, it's really not that big of a deal! You were right, I used to sleep with a lot of women I didn't know-"

"But, you _do_ know her, Taichi! You work with her almost everyday."

"I know. I'm sorry, but that was the kind of guy I was. What do you want me to do, write down every girl I've ever been with on a piece of paper?"

Taichi waited for Sora to say something, and raised his brows when Sora glanced up at the ceiling, seriously contemplating Taichi's offer. He immediately scoffed.

"I'm not writing all that down-"

"Hey, you're the one who suggested it," Sora interrupted with a grin. Taichi glared.

"Well, I take it back."

"You don't get that much leeway, Tai, you're the one who slept with your coworker. Honestly, you've probably slept with more women than I can count on my fingers," She stated disgustedly.

"Yeah, but they didn't mean anything, okay? What we have isn't like that. It's different with you."

Sora froze and glanced into his eyes before he quickly blushed and looked away. Taichi Yagami was not prone to blushing, but Sora had made him do so twice in the past two days. She smiled warmly before walking up to him and kissing him unexpectedly on the lips.

When she pulled away, she was met with a confused look and quickly chuckled before responding.

"So, I'll want that paper handed to me by tomorrow," she joked, before pushing him back on his bed and leaning her body into his.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Sorry these chapters are so long, I really don't know where to stop sometimes! But, here's the next chapter, hope you all enjoy :) and thanks for all the reviews! They really make my day.

* * *

Hikari had always considered herself a 'morning person.' While some people, namely her brother, loved sleeping into the afternoon, Hikari found pleasure in being the early bird. She never understood why anyone would like wasting their day sleeping. Hikari considered it the biggest waste of time.

But, for many obvious reasons, Hikari couldn't bring herself out of bed this particular morning. After a dramatic and heartbreaking weekend, this Monday morning was turning out to be quite a challenge. Hikari didn't know if she was sound enough to go to the elementary school; she didn't know if she was strong enough to go there with Daisuke.

Since the whole 'spin the bottle incident,' Hikari hadn't seen or talked to Daisuke at all. He had tried to resolve things yesterday, but Hikari avoided him as much as she could. For some reason, seeing Daisuke, after everything that had happened, was very awkward. She couldn't tell if it was because she was angry at him for being so obvious during spin the bottle, or because the truth was out in the open, and she had been thinking about their night together more than she should have been.

When Takeru told Hikari he wanted to take a break from their relationship, his main reason wasn't because she had kept her past fling with Daisuke a secret, but because he was convinced Hikari didn't know what she wanted. At first she thought Takeru was crazy...but the more she thought about it, she knew he was right.

Takeru was sure he wanted to be with Hikari for the rest of his life, and while Hikari thought she wanted the same, she wasn't so sure anymore. She was in love with Takeru, there was no doubt about it, but she didn't want her whole life figured out the way Takeru had planned it. This was a recurring problem in their relationship that just wouldn't get resloved. Maybe it was because she liked not knowing what was going to happen.

Hikari sighed to herself before glancing at Miyako on the other bed. Why couldn't she be more like her roommate and less like her brother? Maybe it was embedded in the Yagami genes to be scared of commitment.

Hikari closed her eyes tightly before pushing herself out of bed. She grabbed a pair of teacher-appropriate clothes and trudged her way over to the bathroom. Once she was finished brushing and showering, she combed her hair neatly and exited the room. It seemed that no one else was awake yet.

Hikari grabbed a bagel from the kitchen and sat down at the round dining table. One of Sora's fashion magazines was lying there, so she quickly grabbed it to occupy her thoughts, but it wasn't really helping. She couldn't decide whether she should leave early to avoid taking the bus with Daisuke, or muster up the courage to talk to him about everything that had happened.

Hikari's train of thought was interrupted when she heard someone leaving their bedroom. Hikari looked up and smiled sweetly at Sora as she exited her room.

"Good morning," Hikari stated quietly, keeping in mind that two of her other roommates were still sleeping. The younger girl noticed that Sora was dressed and ready for work. She was wearing a form fitting, scoop-neck dress imprinted with a red and black pattern. Hikari almost felt underdressed with her dress pants and pink blouse, "My my, someone's looking very nice today."

Sora looked at Hikari with a bit of shock, "Good morning, Hikari. I-I'm trying to get to work early...I have a lot of shipments to send out today, and I was hoping Kara would let help with some of her designs. What are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep."

Sora shot Hikari an apologetic look as she ran a few fingers through her auburn hair, which was pinned up on one side. Hikari smiled at how stylish Sora had become. When they were younger, the auburn-haired beauty was nothing more than a rugged tomboy. Sora walked over to the table and placed her folders down as she sat next to Hikari, smiling comfortingly.

"Scared to confront Daisuke?"

"That's an understatement. I'm thinking of just leaving early without him..." Hikari replied, resting her chin in her small hands.

"You're going to have to face him at some point, Hikari. It's better to just get it over with," Sora stated wisely as she placed her feet into her black pumps. Hikari absentmindedly started to scratch the wooden table with her fingernails out of apprehension.

"Why am I being so awkward with him, Sora? If there's anyone I should feel uncomfortable around, it's Takeru, but I'd have no problem spending time with him if he didn't think that we should give each other space..."

Sora shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and Hikari quickly took notice to her odd behavior. Sora was good at giving advice when it came to matters of the heart, but Hikari was getting the feeing that Sora didn't want to talk about all of this.

"Maybe it's because you and Daisuke have never properly talked about that night."

"Yeah..."

Sora sighed and placed a hand on Hikari's shoulder, smiling as reassuringly as she could.

"I have a feeling that once you fix things with Daisuke, everything with Takeru will fall into place-"

Sora was cut off by a soft knocking on the door. The two women gave each other confused looks until Sora walked up to the front door and looked through the peephole. The sight in front of her made Sora smirk, and she turned to Hikari with a smile.

"Speak of the devil..." Sora whispered to her younger friend. Hikari's eyes widened and she quickly stood up from her seat. What should she do? Should she hide?

"You know, I heard heels clicking on the other side of the door. I know someone's awake!" Daisuke stated from the hallway. Sora blushed when she realized that her heels had given them away. She gave Hikari an apologetic look before opening the door to a grinning Daisuke.

"Damn, Sora, you look nice today," he stated. Sora's blush deepened and she shushed the younger boy as she invited him in.

"Miyako and Mimi are still sleeping, Dai, keep your voice down."

Daisuke looked at Sora hopefully, "Oh, so Hikari's awake-" He cut himself off when he noticed Hikari standing by the round dining table, dressed and ready for work. He grinned sheepishly.

There was a small silence in the room, and Sora took it as her cue to leave. She grabbed her folders and a light coat before saying goodbye, and leaving the apartment. Hikari bit the insides of her mouth before walking to the coat rack to get her peacoat.

"Guess we're gonna get to the school early today, huh?" Daisuke asked as he awkwardly looked around the apartment. Hikari sighed and glanced at him.

"How did you know I would be awake?"

"I didn't," he stated with a smile, "I figured you'd try to avoid me, so I wanted to catch you before you snuck out of here."

Hikari blushed and picked up her purse her room before coming out. Daisuke was already standing at the doorway, ready to leave. She noticed the awkward smile imprinted onto his face and quickly looked away.

She trudged out of the apartment and waited for Daisuke to exit, as well, so she could lock the door. Once the two made their way out of the apartment complex, Hikari realized how terribly silent it was. Her morning trek to the elementary school with Daisuke was one of the highlights of her day. She loved his taunting personality, and the way he could make her smile without even trying. This whole situation, however, felt too unfamiliar. She didn't like it.

"You know-...I'm sorry, Hikari."

She glanced at him before looking down at the sidewalk again as they walked towards the bus stop, "For what?"

"For letting the truth come out the way it did."

"It wasn't your fault...I should've known that it would come out eventually. This is all my fault."

Daisuke didn't argue with her. She pursed her lips and clasped her hands together tightly.

"I'm sorry about that night," she spoke softly.

It was Daisuke's turn to glance at her. Hikari noticed a smile forming on his lips as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts.

"I'm not."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"W-What?"

"I don't regret what happened, Kari, and you know that," he paused to look at her fully, "But, I've never been able to tell if _you_ regretted it or not."

Tears prickled the corners of her eyes, and Hikari desperately tried to keep them in. All she kept picturing was the pained look on Takeru's face when he found out the truth. Why couldn't she just tell him? _Why_?

"Do you regret it, Hikari?"

Hikari stopped in her step. She turned to glare at his confused face.

"How can you ask me that?"

"Wha-"

"How can you ask me that, Daisuke? It happened _years_ ago, and we didn't even sleep together. Why do you always ask me if I regret it? _God_, especially now that Takeru and I are on a break, how can you-"

"Hikari," Daisuke interjected as he put his hands on her shoulders. She paused as she gazed into his dark eyes, seeing the reflection of her face through his stare. The way he was looking at her reminded Hikari of that night; his touch reminded her of when he took her swiftly into his arms. It made her heart thump loudly in her chest.

"I'm not trying to get in between you and Takeru, I would never do that. I-I just need to know..."

Hikari tore her gaze away from his and continued walking. She heard Daisuke sigh and follow her lead until he was walking right beside her again. What was it about Daisuke that made Hikari want to run the other way? Up until the truth came out, she had never thought of that night, she had just repressed it to the back of her mind. Daisuke was nothing like Takeru. Daisuke was irresponsible and reckless...Takeru was sweet and tender.

Maybe Hikari didn't want sweetness or tenderness. Maybe she wanted reckless passion. Maybe she was tired-no, maybe she was _bored_ of what she had with Takeru. But, Hikari wasn't that type of girl. She wasn't...

She didn't love Daisuke the way she loved Takeru..but at the same time Takeru didn't have what Daisuke had...

"I don't regret it."

Hikari could tell Daisuke was shocked when he nearly tripped on his feet. For some reason, she couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. He never had to try to make her laugh. He never had to try to make her smile. It came so naturally to him.

"So...so, why did you do it? All of high school I made it obvious that I wanted to be with you, and then out of no where, on Taichi's birthday nonetheless, you decide you want to be with me too? For that one night?"

Hikari blushed, "I was lonely, Daisuke. I felt out of place at that party. You felt like home."

He nodded his head as he stared at the sidewalk. Hikari knew that what she said wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it was the truth. They finally made it to the bus stop, and the two friends sat down on the bench as they waited for their bus to arrive.

"Are you and Takeru alright? I mean, from what I've been hearing from everyone, you guys aren't officially over. That's got to be a good sign, right?" he asked genuinely. Hikari sighed and sat back, placing her purse on her lap.

"It's complicated."

Daisuke let out a whistle and gazed up at the sky. Hikari stole a glance at him and quickly wished she hadn't. His arms were propped on the bench as he looked up at the clouds, and Hikari tried not to stare at his muscles. Daisuke was nicely built...any woman would notice that.

"He'll come around."

She brought herself to stare at her hands. Daisuke noticed this and smiled as he put a comforting arm around Hikari's shoulders. She quickly stiffened her posture and held her breath. Daisuke didn't notice.

"He'd be crazy to let you go. Actually, I don't think he ever would."

"You think so?" she asked softly, looking at him from the corner of her eye. Daisuke grinned and chuckled brightly.

"I know so."

* * *

Sometimes Sora wondered if she was cursed with bad luck the minute she was born. Okay, maybe not the minute she was born, but she was _definitely_ cursed at some point in the past few years. First, Yamato left her. Then, after a boyfriend-less three years, she found out Yamato was getting married. After that, she somehow hooked up with her best friend (at her ex boyfriend's wedding), and developed feelings for him that she never thought she could for someone she used to consider a brother. Now, just when everything was going _so_ well for the two of them, her case of bad luck struck again last night.

Taichi and Sora were having a rough weekend, there was no doubt about it. After that dumb spin the bottle game, and a quick moment of mutual jealousy for each other's past flings, Sora noticed that maybe she didn't think everything through when she decided she wanted to be with Taichi. She just dove headfirst into the whole thing because she went with her feelings.

Maybe that was the problem. Maybe she should learn to use her brain instead of using her heart so much. Maybe if she used her brain, she wouldn't be in the predicament that was created the night before...

"Sora, did you hear me?"

Sora snapped up and stared at Noriko, who was sitting right across from Sora at her respective desk. Noriko frowned and raised a brow at Sora's odd behavior.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, Noriko," Sora sighed, "I just have a few problems at home that I keep thinking about. But, what were you saying?"

Noriko gave Sora a sympathetic look before smiling.

"I said that Mrs. Nakamura just called and said she's running a little late, but she wants to speak with you as soon as she arrives."

Sora raised a brow, "Do you know what she wants to talk about?"

"No, but I think it's something good. She sounded pretty elated on the phone."

Sora's stomach started to churn. Maybe her bad luck only kicked in when it came to her love life. Sora desperately prayed that Kara Nakamura was bearing good news.

"So, do you want to talk about it?"

Sora looked up at Noriko again and sighed.

"Not really..."

"Is it about Taichi?"

Sora's eyes widened, and she swiftly stiffened in her chair, "W-What?"

Noriko laughed and she pointed an accusing finger in Sora's direction.

"I knew it! I knew there was something going on between you two. When he came to pick you up on Friday, it was so obvious."

"W-What are you talking about, Noriko, Taichi's just my best friend."

"Yeah, _okay_," the younger girl sniggered. Sora glared at her, and Noriko instantly shut her mouth as she tried to repress more giggles. Sora sighed and looked back down at the computer in front of her, trying to send out more orders.

"So, are you guys official?"

"Noriko," Sora groaned, "I don't want to talk about it, okay? Now, come on, we have a lot of work to do. I don't want to work after hours."

Noriko just smirked and looked back at her computer, as well, dropping the subject. Sora noticed that the teasing smirk never left Noriko's face, so she sighed exasperatedly and kicked Noriko from under her desk.

"Hey!"

"Wipe that smirk off your face."

"Okay, okay, sheesh."

They both remained quiet and typed away on their computers until Sora sighed and bit her lip, "Don't mention this to Iori."

Noriko looked up, and it took her a few seconds to realize what Sora was implying.

"So I was right? There _is_ something going on between you and Taichi, right?" she asked with a grin.

"No! I-I mean yes, but maybe not anymore...I mean- ugh, Noriko! Just don't mention anything to Iori. Please?"

She smiled sweetly and nodded her head, "Of course I wont. Iori and I aren't even on terms like that anyway, don't worry."

"Thanks," Sora mumbled softly before looking back at her screen with a solemn look. Noriko noticed the distressed look on Sora's face and decides to stop teasing her coworker. If Sora wanted to talk about it, she would have by now.

Mrs. Kara Nakamura rushed into the room quickly, brushing by Noriko and Sora as she went into her office and started preparing herself for the day. Sora leaned to the side of her desk to glance into her boss's office. Should she wait for Mrs. Nakamura to say something, or should she just walk in? Her stomach really started to churn, and Sora shakily got up. She marched herself over to Kara's office and knocked on the door.

"Y-You said you wanted to see me, Mrs. Nakamura?"

Kara Nakamura was well in her mid-forties, but she still had the strong aura of a fashionista. She was wearing a conservative A-line dress, and her long, dirty blonde hair was tied up elegantly in a bun. Kara turned to look at Sora and pushed up her thick framed glasses as she smiled stoutly.

"My, Sora, you look absolutely lovely today."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Sora blushed, straightening out her dress. Sora's whole reason for dressing up was to get Mrs. Nakamura's attention, but it seemed foolish now that Kara had bore news for Sora before even walking into the building.

"Did you make this dress?" Kara asked abruptly.

"Yes, I did. I made it months ago, though-"

"It's beautiful. See, this is the kind of vision I need for my line."

Sora's heart started to race, and she tried to calm her nerves. Mrs. Nakamura motioned for Sora to close the door and take a seat in front of her desk. She obliged.

"Now, I know you're job at the moment is to handle shipments and orders for my company, but I remember when I first hired you, you mentioned an interest in actual design," She paused to examine Sora with scrutiny, which made the red-head blush, "Well, I can't offer you much right now, but I'd love for you to be part of my design team for the fall line."

Sora's eyes widened, "R-Really? Me?"

Kara smiles warmly, "Yes, I realize you're young, but maybe we need someone with a fresh outlook for our fall line. Most of the pieces are already completed, but I wanted to add a few more garments for the runway show. Something about the line feels incomplete to me, and I have a feeling you might be of great help. So, what do you say?"

It took all Sora had not to jump out of her chair and crush her boss into an embrace right then and there, "Of course! Thank you so much, Mrs. Nakamura, you won't regret it, I promise-"

"Now, wait, before you get too excited. This isn't a promotion, I still need you here to help Noriko with shipments, but if I like what I see, maybe this can all lead to something more in the future," Kara stated. Sora grinned and shook her head.

"That is not a problem, ma'am, I'll do whatever you want me to."

This made Kara to chuckle, "Don't sell your soul to me just yet, honey, you have no idea how grueling this is going to be. Are you sure you can handle shipments _and_ helping with the fall line?"

"Well, I'm not sure, Mrs. Nakamura, but I promise you I'll dedicate every minute I can."

She smiled proudly, "That's what I like to hear. Alright, I'll let you get back to sending out orders, I know you have a lot of work to do today. Starting next week, I'll let you know what hours I'll need you outside of this office."

Sora got up enthusiastically and smiled, "That sounds perfect, Mrs. Nakamura, thank you so much."

As she left Kara's office and closed the door behind her, Sora silently danced in her spot with glee. She couldn't believe this was all happening. She just couldn't fathom the idea of helping design the fall line. She was finally on her way to becoming a legitimate designer.

"What happened? Oh my god, stop leaving me in suspense!" Noriko squealed from her desk. Sora quickly walked over to her coworker, overly anxious to explain what Mrs. Nakamura had just offered. Just as she was about to speak, however, someone knocked on the entrance door to their room.

Both women turned to see Taichi standing at the doorway, smiling awkwardly.

"Sorry, I must be interrupting something...I-I'll just come back later-"

"Taichi? Wait," Sora called as Taichi was about to turn around and leave. They both looked at each other for a second before trying to stare at anything but each other. Noriko noticed the thick tension enveloping the room, and quickly cleared her throat before nudging Sora.

"W-Why aren't you at work? It's a little too early for a lunch break..." Sora asked lamely, glancing at him for only a second before catching his eye and looking down at her shoes. She was still standing near Noriko's desk, and she couldn't find the nerve to move closer to him. She wanted to stay far away.

"I, um, couldn't concentrate. Can we talk?" he asked cautiously, shoving his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. If this was any other day, and if everything that happened last night _didn't _occur, Sora would've found his whole look attractive, but at the moment, she just couldn't look at him.

"I have a lot of work to do..."

He nodded his head, keeping his expression stoic, "Alright, we'll talk later, I guess. Um...okay, bye."

With that, he turned on his heel and left the room. Sora stayed in her standing position for a moment longer before closing her eyes tightly. The elation she felt from what Mrs. Nakamura offered her had quickly subsided as soon as he came in.

"Sora...? Are you alright?"

Sora looked to her left at Noriko's face and quickly shook her head, "He...he told me that he loves me."

Noriko raised a brow, confused as to what Sora was saying. The older girl sighed as she walked back to her desk and sat down in her chair, trying to calm her shaking knees.

"Last night, I decided to walk over to Taichi's apartment while everyone was sleeping. No one knows about us, so we do everything in secret. This night was supposed to be like every other night. I was supposed to go into his room, we'd both-" Sora paused to blush and Noriko nodded, understanding what Sora was implying, "yeah, and then after all that I'd sleep in his bed with him until the sun came up, and sneak out of his apartment and back into mine before anyone woke up."

Sora leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead before continuing, "That's not what happened last night, though. At one point, in the throes of passion, Taichi mumbled that he loves me. He distinctly said, '_God_, Sora, I love you.' I guess it scared me to the point where I had to stop what we were doing. He got off of me and we both just laid in his bed for a few minutes, not saying anything. He was about to say something to explain himself, but before he could, I put on my clothes and left the room. We haven't talked to each other since-well, until now, I guess."

Noriko stayed quiet for a few seconds before looking at Sora sympathetically, "So...do you love him?"

"I don't know..." Sora muttered back, closing her eyes tightly, "Ugh, I'm sorry Noriko. I was supposed to be telling you about what Kara had just offered me, not about my complicated love life."

Noriko laughed and waved it off, "No, I like talking about this stuff. Besides, I hate seeing you bummed out. I have to work with you all day, and I'd rather be sitting across from you when you're in a pleasant mood."

This made Sora laugh. She liked having Noriko at work. She felt that she could tell Noriko everything, and not have to worry about someone from back home finding out. Well...with the exception of Iori, but Sora had a lot of trust in her coworker.

"Hey, didn't you tell me a while back that you're friend Mimi was, like, in love with Taichi or something?"

Sora groaned, "Oh, trust me, you don't even want me to get into that...I've been killing myself over that situation for weeks now."

"Man," Noriko paused to grin, "Your life is like a soap opera."

"Tell me about it..."

"Well, let's change the topic before you get even more depressed. So, what did Kara offer you?"

Sora's mood instantly lifted again, and she grinned as she went to explain what their boss had mentioned moments before.

* * *

Koushiro glanced at the time on his laptop again before sighing anxiously. There was only one hour left before he could leave work, but he wasn't sure if he wanted time to fly by quickly or not.

See, today was Koushiro and Keiko's one month anniversary (which was weird because exactly a month ago, Takeru and Hikari told the whole gang about their relationship, yet at this very moment, they're on a break...nothing seems to last anymore, does it?). Koushiro wasn't sure how he felt, but he was positive that his stomach was doing cartwheels all day.

He was nervous. About what? Koushiro had no idea. He wasn't sure if it was because he was apprehensive that he and Keiko might actually 'do the deed'-as Taichi would put it-or because he was shocked that he'd lasted in a relationship for this long without the girl running away.

Koushiro instantly cleared his throat and decided he wasn't going to think about all this until the time came. He continued to work and push away is impending thoughts until he realized that it was time to leave. A knock on his door confirmed his thought.

Keiko smiled shyly from the door and leaned against the door frame. She was wearing tweed dress pants with a dark brown, ruffled blouse. Her light brown hair was styled as usual, right above her shoulders with the ends curling out. Her eyes glanced at him before blushing and looking at the floor, her long eyelashes hiding the look in her eyes.

Koushiro couldn't help but smile warmly at this. Thankfully, she was more nervous than he was.

"So, I was thinking for dinner...instead of going out, maybe I could cook you something at my place," she offered apprehensively, fidgeting with her fingers. Koushiro stood up after he packed his laptop and smiled nervously.

"Uh, yeah, that sounds great."

She smiled as they both left his private cubicle and walked towards the exit of the building. Koushiro glanced at Keiko's face and saw how flushed it was behind her freckles. He found it somewhat adorable, and cautiously reached for her hand as they walked. Keiko glanced as their fingers intertwined and then at him. He noticed her fond smile.

"So, how was your day?" she asked sweetly, causing Koushiro to smile yet again.

"It was alright," he couldn't tell her that he was sitting around, apprehensively waiting for the hours to lull by, even though she probably did the same.

"Yeah, it was a pretty long day..." she stated with a sigh. Koushiro nodded in agreement as they continued to walk towards her apartment. Keiko lived much closer to their work building than Koushiro did, so they'd usually go to her place after work to hang out for an few hours. They wouldn't do much, though. Usually they'd sit and talk about life, or pop in a movie before Koushiro had to leave to go back home.

Physically, the farthest they'd ever gone was one heated make-out session. Just one. They were interrupted by Koushiro's cell phone, and of course, the caller was none other than Daisuke calling to ask what Koushiro wanted for dinner. Daisuke had noticed the flustered tone of Koushiro's voice and instantly knew that he and Keiko were _busy_, and as expected, Daisuke started teasing Koushiro which ultimately led the red-head to hang up abruptly.

As for today, Koushiro didn't know what was going to happen, but he was definitely going to turn his phone off. As they neared Keiko's apartment complex, Koushiro's heart started to beat loudly. He wished he wouldn't be so nervous. He tried to hide it as best as he could from Keiko.

"So, what do you want for dinner?" she asked as she opened the door to her apartment and hung her coat on the rack. Koushiro closed the door behind him and also hung his coat before following Keiko into her small kitchen.

"Hm, anything is fine with me," he explained with a smile. Keiko glared playfully. She wasn't good at glaring. It wasn't in her nature to ever be angry. Keiko was probably one of the most timid girls Koushiro had ever met, but he liked that.

"You better decide quick, or I'm just going to cook something random, and I don't want any complaints."

"You won't get any complaints from me. Anything you make will probably be amazing," he explained with a smile as he sat down on a chair by the small dining table. Keiko blushed at his comment before clearing her throat and looking through her cabinets.

Koushiro watched her and blushed. It was so funny. A little over a month ago, Koushiro had still been pining for Mimi, but now he felt as if the cinnamon haired girl was a far off memory. Keiko was amazing. She got along with his friends easily, she had a sweet personality, and she wasn't bad on the eyes either. Keiko was smart, charming, caring, and...and beautiful. Koushiro didn't feel invisible when he was with her. He didn't feel insecure. It had been a long time since he felt so comfortable in his own skin.

Something compelled Koushiro to get up from his seat and make his way towards his girlfriend. She was reaching up to pull out a box of dried ingredients, but Koushiro twirled her around before she had any idea what was going on, and kissed her perfectly on the lips.

Keiko stood there blushing for a few seconds before her eyes fluttered shut, and she kissed him back softly. As Koushiro pulled away, he brought a hand to her cheek as his own started to turn pink.

"Sorry, I-I don't know why I did that. It just felt...like the right moment."

Keiko chuckled shyly, "Watching me reach into cabinets felt like the right moment for a kiss?"

"Thank you," he spoke softly, ignoring her remark. She raised a brow.

"For what?"

"For asking me out on a date all those weeks ago," Koushiro paused to chuckle and moved in closer, "My life would be so different right now if you hadn't come knocking on my cubicle door," he joked.

Keiko gazed into his dark eyes and smiled. It was her turn to pull him in for a kiss, but this one was much deeper. As he brought his hands to her hips, and Keiko wrapped her arms around his neck, Koushiro glanced at his cell phone by his laptop case and smiled to himself. There would be no interruptions tonight. Thank god he turned it off.

* * *

Today was a roller-coaster of emotions, indeed. First, Taichi tells her he loves her, and she has no idea what to say. Then, she gets an offer from Mrs. Nakamura to help with the fall line which leaves her exuberant. And now, the abominable Willis was standing at the entrance of the room.

Sora couldn't take this. She felt as if she was going to have a mental breakdown after all the events of this day. Just when her day couldn't get worse, or any better for that matter, she turns at the sound of someone knocking on the door, just to have piercing blue eyes staring back at her. He looked just like she remembered: he was wearing light jeans with a long-sleeved blue sweater. His sweet blue eyes looked eager, just like she remembered them.

"May I help you?" Noriko asked politely from her desk, not noticing anything. Willis smiled awkwardly before staring back at Sora.

"I'm here to speak to Sora, actually," he stated, looking at the auburn haired girl hopefully. Sora was speechless. She had no idea what to say. There was silence, and Willis continued to stand by the door, waiting for Sora to speak.

"H-How did you find out where I work?"

"Mimi told me I'd find you here...I was just at the cafe with her, actually."

Sora swore that she'd tackle Mimi for this. How could she tell Willis where she worked?

Then a sudden thought came to Sora. It was _Sora_ who told Mimi that she'd give Willis a chance just to make Taichi angry last friday. Crap, she didn't think that Mimi would have contacted him so quickly! It was two days ago. Mimi also failed to mention that Willis was coming so soon.

"Look, just hear me out. How about I take you to dinner? My treat," he offered sweetly. Sora opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't thing of anything to say. What the hell was she supposed to do?

"Um...Sora?"

Sora's gaze snapped back to his when he called her name, and she sighed as she rubbed her eyes. She could already feel a migraine forming in the back of her head. Why was this happening to her? It must have been that string of bad luck kicking in...

Sora excused herself to Noriko, who was giving Sora curious look. Poor Noriko probably thought Sora was a lunatic after all this. Sora stood up and straightened her dress awkwardly when she felt Willis watching her, and quickly motioned for Willis to follow her out of the room.

As the door closed behind them, Sora turned to Willis in the hallway and flushed. She didn't like seeing him. She didn't like remembering what had happened between them. He seemed unfazed, however. Sora could tell how happy he was to see her...if only she could feel the same.

"Look, I know you're probably wondering why I came back to see you...it's just that, I don't know. This might sound crazy, but, I think I really like you, Sora. I don't know if it's the fact that you're so repulsed by me and I want to prove you wrong, or if it's because I actually felt a connection that night at the bar...I don't know. Just give me chance to make it up to you. I feel terrible about everything, and I want to make this right."

Sora looked into his blue eyes and pursed her lips. The notion was very sweet, but Sora couldn't help but feel a little freaked out. This guy came all the way back from America just because he wanted to see her? He barely _knew_ Sora.

"L-Look, Willis, this is very sweet, but-"

"But what? What do you got to lose?"

Sora's heart suddenly sunk in her chest, "What?" she whispered.

"I said, what do you got to lose?" he reiterated with another hopeful look.

But, that was just it. Sora had so much to lose. Sora would lose Taichi.

"I know you're probably really creeped out right now, but just hear me out. Just give me one date. I'll prove to you that I'm not the guy you think I am."

Sora sighed, "I believe you. You don't have to prove anything to me-"

"I don't get it," Willis chuckled as he looked down at his shoes, "What are you so scared of? Are you scared that I'll hurt you like you're ex did? The one you mentioned that night at the bar?"

Sora pushed some of her auburn hair behind her ear and looked down at her shoes as well. Maybe that was it. Maybe she was scared to get hurt again. Was that why she was running away from what she had with Taichi?

"Yeah, I guess I am scared..."

Willis walked closer to her and lifted her chin so he could see her eyes. Sora gazed back uncomfortably, not knowing what to do.

"Not every guy's gonna hurt you like he did, Sora. You just gotta give some people a chance. The more you push people away, the more you're gonna regret it. Do you want to live you're life asking 'what if?' after every guy who's tried to win your heart leaves? You won't find the right guy if you don't let anyone in."

His words hit her hard. He was right. This random guy from America who she had a one night stand with was telling her everything she needed to hear. Sora was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice Willis leaning down. When his lips pressed against hers, for a second she stood there in shock, but then she quickly pulled away and took a step back once she realized what was happening...and how wrong his lips felt against hers. They didn't feel like Taichi's.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, Willis, I'm sorry. I just- I really admire your determination, but-," Sora stopped to shake her head, and think of what she wanted to say. The only thing she could think of was, "Thank you."

He looked at her bewildered, "F-For what?"

"You made me realize something that I probably wouldn't have realized if you didn't come all the way to Japan," Sora placed a hand on his cheek apprehensively, "You're going to make some girl out there the happiest girl ever...but, I'm sorry, that girl's not me. I'm sorry you came all the way here...I'm sorry for all the trouble."

Willis sighed, obviously hurt by the whole scenario, "Well, seems like this trip was bust," he explained with a forced laugh, trying to ease the mood. Sora looked down with guilt, not really knowing what else to say.

"He's a lucky guy, you know."

Sora looked back up into his sweet blue eyes with a raised brow. He only laughed.

"I'm too late. Someone's already won your heart," he explained with a small smile. Sora blushed and tried to say something, but everything came out as a stutter.

"So, if he hadn't come around before me and swept you off your feet, would you have given me a chance?" he asked with eagerness, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Sora chuckled.

"Goodbye, Willis."

He grinned, "I'm gonna take that as a 'yes.'"

Sora shook her head with a smile before heading back into her office. Willis grabbed onto her hand quickly before she could walk back into the room, and she turned to look at him again.

"Can I at least take you out to dinner one day as a friend? I'm gonna be in Japan for a couple of months because I signed up for a job here anyway, so the least you could do, since you busted my trip, is let me take you out."

Sora smiled, "I'd like that."

"Awesome," he laughed, "I'll see you around, Sora Takenouchi."

Everything after that was a rushed blur. All Sora remembered was apologizing to Noriko before grabbing her coat and leaving the office. She briskly walked to her car and turned on the engine, driving away subconsciously as she thought about everything.

God, why was she so stupid? Yes, she and Taichi had only been fooling around for almost one month, and his sudden confession seemed way too early, but now it all made sense. Taichi was her best friend before they got together, and he already loved her as a best friend. Maybe falling in love wasn't as drastic of a step as she initially thought. They already loved each other, and now they were exploring a deeper part of their relationship; a deeper part of their love.

Sora thought about his cheeky, lop-sided grin, and the way he taunted endlessly about everything. She thought about the way he looked at her when no one else was around, and the way he'd smile at her when everyone was bustling around them. She thought about their first night together at Yamato's wedding... how it felt so _right_ to be in his arms, and how perfect it felt to wake up next to him that morning.

All this time, she'd never realized that the best friend who was always right beside her was what she needed all along. All she ever wanted was someone who she could feel comfortable with, laugh with, joke around with; someone who would love her and be there forever...And he was always _right there_, right in front of her eyes, and she'd never realized him.

Willis was right. He was right about everything. She couldn't let her fears ruin what she had with Taichi. She just couldn't.

Sora parked her car and quickly ran out of towards the twenty-floor high building, locking her car automatically as she quickened her pace. Once she entered, she quickly paced into the elevator, pressing Taichi's floor. It seemed like forever until she finally reached her destination. With sweaty palms, Sora exited the elevator and made her way in front of Taichi's door. Now that she was there, it took her a couple of seconds to regain her composure. Her heart was beating wildly, especially since she rushed her way in front of his door. She closed her eyes to calm the churning in her stomach.

Finally, she turned the nob and walked into the room.

Taichi was sitting at his desk, on the phone with someone, until Sora stepped into his room. For a second, he just stared at her in shock, and then he quickly apologized to the person on the phone before hanging up.

All of a sudden, Sora stopped in her tracks. She couldn't move. She just looked at him and bit her lip anxiously. There he was. Right there. Like he always was, all this time.

"Sora?" he called, standing up from his chair, "What're you doing here?"

She didn't answer, she just gazed at him. Taichi furrowed his brows, and walked in front of his desk. He wanted to get closer to her, but also didn't want to scare her away. And, boy, did he knew how good he was at doing that, especially after last night.

"Sor...?" he called again, and this time he got a reaction. Sora looked down at her shoes, but still didn't say anything. This was weird...Taichi didn't know what to do. The only thing he could think of was to explain himself for his actions last night, so he took a deep breath and sighed.

"Look, Sor, about last night...I didn't mean 'I love you' as in 'I'm _in love_ with you,'...I just meant it more like, 'Hey, wow, we're best friends and we're doing _this_. Man, I love you...as a best friend _only_.'" Taichi rambled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "I'm sorry if I scared you, I didn't mean it like that, really! I mean, who would ever say that to someone they've been hooking up with for only a month? That's just creepy-"

Sora chuckled at his effort cover it all up, and it only made her love him so much more. She quickly walked up to him and pressed her lips passionately against his. Taichi stood there in complete shock. He was so surprised, he couldn't even kiss her back.

"I love you, too."

This snapped Taichi out of his trance and he quickly gazed into Sora's vibrant auburn eyes. The only thing he could choke out was a pathetic, "What?"

Sora laughed, "I love you, stupid. I'm in love with you too, at least I'm pretty sure I am," she stated with a laugh. Taichi raised his eyebrows and cleared his throat.

"Well, _sorry_ to burst your bubble, Ms. Takenouchi, but I didn't mean it like _that_-"

"Oh, shut it," she stated before pressing her lips against his again. This time, Taichi obliged happily, bringing her thin body closer to his. Sora sighed into his mouth. This felt right. This felt perfect.

As she pulled away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled.

"I'm ready," she stated abruptly.

Taichi raised a brow, "Sora, we've already slept together...and that's the only thing I can think of when a woman says, 'I'm ready.'"

She laughed and shoved him a little, only to kiss him on the lips again.

"No, I'm ready to tell everyone...I think I'm ready to tell Mimi."

Taichi's eyes widened, and he quickly straightened out his suit out of habit, "Are you sure?"

Sora bit her lip and looked down at the ground, already feeling the pressure of what she was going to do; what she _had_ to do. Mimi deserved to finally know the truth.

"I'm positive."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I just wanna say I'm sorry for putting so much of Sora's perspective! It was necessary to lead up to what's happening next, which I hope you're all anxious for because I've been building it up (fml, too much pressure!)


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: AH, long chapter with a lot going on. Sorry if it's not how you imagined it to be! I've been writing this chapter for hours, and it's 8 am and I can't even keep my eyes open. But i just had to upload it! Hope you enjoy :) Review!

* * *

"Have a good night, Mimi!"

The young waitress turned to smile beautifully as she waved to one of her fellow waiters, exiting the cafe with relief, "Bye, see you on Monday!"

Mimi was so happy that this week was over. There was no denying how exhausting working at the cafe was, along with taking classes during the evening, but now that today was Friday, she could finally have a nice, long, relaxing weekend without thinking about work and school.

A small breeze brushed Mimi's skin, and she instinctively wrapped her thin coat closer to her body. Her waitress uniform didn't cover much of her body, but she didn't mind; it helped her get a lot of tips. It was getting colder outside, and while Mimi loved springtime weather, she didn't really fancy autumn. The fall season only meant that winter was coming, and for some reason, she didn't like the idea of winter. It was too cold and desolate for her taste.

The cinnamon-haired girl briskly walked towards her apartment complex as her ponytail swung behind her. She was so excited to get home and change out of her uniform, and even more excited to go to dinner tonight with Sora. They had made plans for this last weekend, realizing that they both had so much to catch up on. She'd been looking forward to their dinner all week! It had been far too long since she'd gotten to relax and enjoy her roommate's company.

More importantly, Mimi was very curious as to why Sora had rejected Willis's offer to go out on a date last week. She was sure that her roommate was interested in moving on, Sora had said so herself a few weekends ago. So what changed? When Mimi had called Willis up to hear the news, the only thing the blond had said was, "I was too late." What did that mean?

Mimi sighed contently as she reached her building and walked through the door. She was greeted by warmth and cheerfully walked up the stairs. Even though the past week had been brutal, Mimi couldn't help but realize how work and school distracted her from everything that was bothering her lately. And, by 'everything,' Mimi meant 'Taichi.'

She didn't know why it still hurt her to think about him. When did her little crush become this crazy, obsessive, reckless _need_ for the bushy-haired man? Especially because he was dating someone else...The last time she even had a full conversation with him was a couple weeks ago. How pathetic was that? There was a time when she and Taichi used to be very close...it was right before Yamato's wedding. They'd stay up late just watching a movie, cuddling harmlessly on his couch, talking about life...when did it all change? More importantly, why did he lead her on? _Especially_ because he was currently dating someone from his work. Did he just forget about Mimi? Did he forget everything that they had? But at the same time...they didn't really _have_ anything.

This thought made Mimi stop as she walked up the stairs.

Maybe Taichi didn't think of everything in the way that Mimi did. Maybe this whole time, he just thought they were being good friends. Even that one night when they hooked up, he claimed from the beginning he wasn't interested in her as anything more than that.

Mimi groaned and pushed the thoughts out of her mind. She had much more important things to worry about! Her love life (or lack thereof) was not as important as getting good grades in culinary school. She continued up the stairs and down the hall to her apartment. As she unlocked the door and entered, she couldn't help but smile at the backs of Miyako and Ken's heads on the couch.

Miyako turned her head towards the door when she heard it open and grinned, "Finally, you're back!"

"I know, it's been such a long day," Mimi responded with an exasperated sigh, placing her coat neatly on the rack before walking over to the couch. She smiled brightly at Ken, "Wow, Ken, long time no see! How have you been?"

"I've been good, thanks. This was the one night my shift ended early, so I figured I'd drop by," he explained with a polite smile. Miyako nudged him in the ribs and rolled her eyes.

"More like, 'I missed my girlfriend and decided I'd come visit her for a bit,'" she retorted with a snort, which Ken chuckled to coolly.

"Whatever you say, Miyako."

"Hey!" she punched him playfully on the arm, and he smiled sweetly to her. Mimi couldn't help but let out a melodious laugh as she walked towards her room to give the couple some privacy. As she opened the door, Mimi grinned at the sight of Sora sitting on her bed, drawing sketches into her pad.

Sora looked up at Mimi and instantly got up from her position, "Oh, Mimi! You're back-" Sora cut herself off as she lost her balance a little bit. Mimi chuckled at her best friend's odd behavior, but quickly brushed it off.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late, Sora. When are our dinner reservations?"

"Well, we have about a half hour-"

"Perfect! I'll get ready and then we can go," Mimi explained with a genuine smile as she headed to her closet to find the perfect outfit. Sora watched her nervously and forcefully sat back down on her bed to calm herself.

"I'm so excited for dinner, Sora, you have no idea. After this week, I really can't wait to spend a relaxing evening with just you."

Mimi didn't notice the guilty look on Sora's face.

"Yeah, no doubt..." Sora stated softly, fidgeting with her pencil skirt. Mimi noticed the odd tone of her voice and turned to look at her best friend peculiarly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, of course I am! Why?" Sora answered quickly, forcing a smile onto her face. Mimi furrowed her brows and turned to fully face her roommate.

"I don't know...you seem a little antsy. Is everything alright?"

Sora blushed slightly under the scrutiny of Mimi's gaze, "Yes, Meems, everything is fine. Now come on, get ready. We have to leave soon!"

* * *

If there was one thing that Takeru had realized in these past two weeks, it was that without Hikari around, the apartment complex was one lonely place. Sure, Jyou and Iori were around sometimes, but they both were so busy with their lives that they often forgot about Takeru. He didn't blame them though; rounds at the hospital and studying for grueling law exams was probably tough, so Takeru wasn't going to bother them with his problems.

The sad part was that Jyou and Iori were the only people he could really talk to about all this. Naturally, all the girls were taking care of Hikari and keeping her busy, so Takeru didn't want to confide in them. There was no way on earth he would ever try to talk to Taichi or Daisuke because one was Hikari's brother and the _other _one was the reason this all had happened. Okay, Takeru knew he didn't mean that. It wasn't all Daisuke's fault, and what had happened between him and Hikari was way in the past...but it still really hurt. He had been fortunate enough to have avoided Daisuke for the past two weeks, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he'd have to face him. Anyway, the only other person left was Koushiro. Takeru tried talking to him, but Koushiro isn't good at giving advice on these kind of matters. Takeru could also tell that the red-head didn't want to get involved, so he decided he wouldn't bother him about it anymore.

Takeru hated feeling isolated from everyone. Albeit, he was probably isolating himself, but that was besides the point. He was just confused and wanted someone to talk to. Well, there was _one_ person out there that would listen to him and console him, and he was the perfect man for the job: Yamato Ishida. The thought of seeing his brother made Takeru's chest heave. He had never needed the comfort of his brother more than he needed it now.

Sometimes Takeru wondered if he was over-exaggerating everything. It wasn't like Hikari cheated on him with Daisuke, and it wasn't like Hikari was purposely trying to hurt him. But, it was normal to feel hurt by all this, right? Any normal human being would be hurt to find that the love of their life had a fling with their best friend. Any normal human being would feel betrayed to know that the love of their life had kept it a secret for so long.

God, they'd been going out for eight months. _Eight_. And she couldn't find the right time to mention everything to him? That wasn't even the worst part. Takeru could tell that Hikari was conflicted. She had been the one who was so hesitant to tell everyone about their relationship. _She_ had been the one who was scared to talk about their future together. Takeru feared that Hikari didn't want to be in such a committed relationship. Maybe being with a man like Daisuke was something that she preferred more...

Takeru sighed and ran a few fingers through his hair as he thought of Hikari's sweet smile. His stomach churned as he imagined her laughing and holding his hand. Everything was so perfect. Everything was great. So,_ why_ did he go on a break with her? Why did it hurt so much?

To tell the truth: he was confused. Plain and simple, he just didn't know what to do. His heart was telling him to forgive her: she just didn't want to Takeru to look at her differently...she didn't want Takeru to judge the fact that she had fooled around with Daisuke. But, his mind was telling him to give her space. Hikari needed to figure things out, and hopefully when she did, her path would lead her back into Takeru's arms.

Takeru couldn't imagine his life with anyone but her. Maybe he just needed to wait for Hikari to realize the same thing.

Takeru pursed his lips as he looked up at the tall apartment building that Yamato lived in. His brother lived much farther from Takeru than the younger boy had originally thought. It took Takeru a bus ride and a massive amount of walking to reach Yamato's home, but he finally reached his destination. Takeru looked up at the fancy apartment complex again before texting Yamato off of his small phone. The building had strict security precautions, and the only way Takeru would be able to enter was if Yamato came to open the door.

He had talked to Yamato on the phone a couple hours before, and he could tell Yamato was excited about Takeru's visit. It had been a month since they'd seen each other, and ever since Yamato's wedding, the brothers had rekindled their relationship. Being Yamato's best man was the best experience of Takeru's life. He had really missed his brother.

When Yamato's figure appeared in front of him, Takeru couldn't help but grin and embrace him warmly. Yamato chuckled and ruffled Takeru's blond hair.

"Damn, kiddo, it's only been a month. You're acting like we haven't seen each other in years."

"Well, maybe you could be a little bit more excited to see me!"

Yamato smiled coolly, "You know I am."

Takeru tried not to laugh at Yamato's inability to show exuberance. He always became awkward when it came to expressing joy, "So, how's everything been? How's Hitomi?"

Yamato led Takeru into the expensive building and towards the elevators. Takeru noticed how Yamato tensed up at his question, but that demeanor quickly melted away. His older brother turned to look at Takeru with a half-hearted smile.

"Everything's alright...just getting used to it all, I guess."

The blond brothers walked into the elevator and Yamato pressed the button for his floor as Takeru offered him a curious look.

"What do you mean?"

Yamato sighed and ran a few fingers through his long hair. He didn't answer, and Takeru knew he probably wasn't going to get an answer.

"Are you alright, Yamato?" Takeru pressed, his voice laced with concern. Yamato turned to look at him and smirked with amusement.

"Don't worry about me, Takeru, everything's fine. I should be the one asking _you_ if you're alright. I could tell by your voice on the phone that something was up," Yamato stated, crossing his arms and leaning against one of the walls. Takeru shut his mouth and gazed at the floor, which Yamato was quick to notice. It only brought a smile onto his hard face.

The elevator doors opened and Yamato lead his younger brother towards his apartment. The older man noticed Takeru's conflicted silence and nudged him comfortingly.

"I hope you don't mind, but Hitomi invited a few people over," he paused to smirk, "I mean, you know a couple of them, but if you want to talk alone, we can go somewhere else."

Takeru sighed, "Well, I guess I'll just say hello to everyone real quick. Besides, I can't leave without greeting my sister-in-law." He stated with a grin. Yamato chuckled and rolled his eyes at Takeru's toothy smile.

Yamato walked up to his apartment door and twisted the nob, motioning for Takeru to walk in first. The younger blond walked in comfortably and looked around the living room for Hitomi.

"Takeru, is that you?"

He turned his head to the sound of Hitomi's voice and smiled brightly at the sight of her. She was looking beautiful, as usual, wearing an expensive-looking gray dress with pearls around her neck as she held a martini glass in her hand. Her brown locks curled effortlessly down her back, and her red lips smiled as she made her way towards Takeru.

"Hitomi, it's been way too long!"

"Yes, it has! I'm angry with you, Takeru, why don't you come visit me and your brother more often?" she asked as she brought the younger boy in for an embrace. Takeru smiled and hugged back, but it wasn't until then that he heard a lot of voices coming from another part of the apartment.

"So, are you guys throwing a party somewhere in here or what?" he asked with a grin. Yamato walked up to them and chuckled before shoving his hands in the pockets of his black jeans.

"Well, Hitomi likes to throw small things at our apartment every other Friday night," he explained. Takeru could hear the strain in Yamato's voice, but quickly turned his attention back to Hitomi.

"Please, Yama, you know I'm just trying to get used to this new place," she explained with a flirtatious smile as she placed her hands on her hips suggestively. Takeru laughed at his brother's disappointed look, but Yamato did not find any of it amusing. Hitomi also noticed Yamato's disapproving face and quickly went to peck him on the lips before grabbing Takeru's hand.

"Come, I'll introduce you to everyone," Hitomi stated before dragging Takeru to another part of the apartment. The size of Yamato's apartment was almost triple the size of Takeru's. The place looked new, clean, and white; it was a very modern and expensive apartment, no doubt about it. Takeru noticed the voices getting louder as Hitomi led him to another room, and he instantly knew why Yamato disapproved of this. It sounded like there were a good thirty people packed in that room.

As Hitomi opened the door to the grand room, no one turned to give the two of them any attention. Takeru was quick to notice why: everyone was drinking, and it looked like most of the people in the room were already feeling the effects of the alcohol. It wasn't like any party Takeru had ever been to before. This one seemed much more high class, and everyone was dressed up in clothes that he'd probably seen in Sora's fashion magazines. Takeru had to admit, it was a pretty classy event, except for the fact that everyone was getting quite drunk.

Hitomi led Takeru to a couple of people and introduced them to him. It wasn't until then that Takeru noticed _him_ making out intensely with Bianca on one of the fancy couches. For some odd reason, the sight of Daisuke and Bianca hooking up made Takeru want to walk over there and slug Daisuke right in the face.

Takeru couldn't stop thinking of Daisuke touching Hikari like that; he couldn't stop thinking of Daisuke kissing and holding Hikari just like _that_. It made him sick to his stomach. As Daisuke's hands started to wander Bianca's back, Takeru's nostrils flared and it took all his energy not to walk over there and punch Daisuke in the stomach.

As if Daisuke could feel Takeru's eyes burning holes into his flesh, Daisuke opened his brown eyes and looked up straight at Takeru. The brunette quickly stopped what he was doing, and gazed in shock at his blonde friend.

"T-Takeru?" he called, but before Daisuke could get up, Takeru turned on his heel and marched out of the room. He couldn't be in the same area as him. He couldn't even be near Daisuke without picturing him caressing and loving Hikari.

Takeru could hear Daisuke calling for him, but he quickened his pace until he was back in the original living room. Yamato was sitting at a marble counter when Takeru marched in, and he quickly stood up when he noticed the look of disdain on Takeru's sweet face.

"Hey, what happened-"

"Can we leave?" Takeru interrupted, already heading for the door. Yamato raised a brow as he stood in his spot, confused as to what was going on. Daisuke ran into the room wearing jeans and a button down shirt, looking around frantically until his eyes landed on Takeru.

"Takeru, wait! Come on, man, let me just talk to you-"

"Leave me alone, Daisuke. Don't follow me."

And with that, Takeru slammed the door behind him and exited the apartment.

* * *

The drive over to the restaurant was one of the worst journeys of Sora's life. Not only was her stomach in knots at the idea of confessing the truth to Mimi, but her roommate had noticed that something was wrong. The conversations had been short between them, but Mimi had not failed to stay positive and cheerful. It had nearly killed Sora.

Sora had barely gotten any sleep last night. She kept tossing and turning in bed, trying to think of the perfect way to tell Mimi the news. After laying there for a couple of hours, Sora had realized that there was absolutely _no_ perfect way to tell the truth. It was going to be hurtful and terrible no matter what.

Deciding that she wasn't going to get any sleep, Sora had tip-toed her way to Taichi's room and snuck into bed with him. He had almost yelped in surprise when he noticed that Sora had come into his room, but he quickly tried to console her as best as he could. It hadn't really worked, though. She admired his efforts, nonetheless.

When Taichi had tried to make her sleep for a little bit, Sora watched his goofy smile fade into peaceful slumber. Watching him sleep was the worst part of the night. She kept thinking about the time Mimi had slept over in Taichi's room. Mimi probably gazed at him the same way Sora had...Mimi probably felt the same way that Sora had felt as she watched him sleep. It had made her want to cry in frustration.

Now, however, the two roommates were seated at a table in some fancy restaurant that Mimi herself had picked out. Mimi was looking over the menu, and offering suggestions to Sora about what to order. Sora couldn't pay any attention. All she was focused on was the churning in her stomach. She was in no mood to eat.

Sora glanced up at Mimi and bit her lip solemnly. Mimi had been so excited about dinner, she had gotten all dressed up for the occasion. Sora realized that Mimi looked absolutely beautiful, and suddenly started to feel self-conscious in her presence. That was the last thing she needed at the moment. Sora needed every ounce of confidence she could muster.

The waiter came to order both of their dishes, and quickly grabbed the menus before leaving. Mimi placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands as she smiled sweetly at Sora.

"So, how's the fall line going? Mrs. Nakamura had you running around this week, didn't she?"

Sora forced a chuckle, "Yeah, but I didn't mind. Noriko does a good job with shipments, so she makes my life much easier. Now I can focus more of my energy in helping Kara with the line," Sora paused to place a napkin on her lap, "I swear, Noriko's an angel sent from heaven."

Mimi laughed, "Well, Iori's one lucky guy, then. You know, dating an 'angel' and all."

Sora joined in with Mimi's laughter as she tucked some auburn hair behind her ear.

"How are classes going?"

"Well, they're getting more interesting, but I feel like I still have a long way to go..." Mimi explained with a pout, glancing at the table with hopelessness. Sora smiled reassuringly and shook her head.

"But you're really not that far, Mimi. The hardest part is realizing what you want to do with your life, and actually making a move on it. I think you're already half-way through the journey."

This made Mimi tear up and gaze at Sora adoringly.

"I'm so lucky I've met you, Sora, I don't know what I'd do without you. I love you so much, thank you for everything," she declared softly, reaching over to grab Sora's hand tightly. It was just like Mimi to get overly emotional and loving over one small act. It was almost like Mimi pulled the heart right out of Sora's chest. Sora didn't say anything, and quickly tried to keep her own tears at bay. She glanced at the table and desperately forced herself to control her breathing.

The waiter came back with their drinks, and swiftly placed them on the table before leaving again. Sora had ordered a martini and took a quick gulp before leaning back in her seat and removing her hand from Mimi's. The cinnamon-haired girl sipped on her drink happily before looking up at Sora again.

"So, Ken and Miyako are absolutely _the_ most adorable couple I've ever seen. I mean, do you see the way she looks at him? And do you see the way he caresses her hand, as if to remind Miyako that he's right there next to her? Gosh, it makes me so jealous," Mimi rambled swooningly. Sora pursed her lips tightly. This was not going to be easy at all, was it?

"Yeah, they're very sweet. And Miyako's finally letting her guard down with him. I'm glad she's becoming more comfortable," Sora added, taking another gulp of her martini. Mimi sighed blissfully and stirred her drink with the skinny straw.

"You think I'll ever find someone like him, Sora? Do you think that one day someone will look at me the way Miyako looks at Ken?"

Sora's heart started to pound, "Mimi, I'm sure a lot of guys look at you like that."

"No, I mean _really_ look at me like I'm the one. Look at me like he knows he wants to be with me forever, and not for just one night."

Sora looked into Mimi's hopeful eyes and couldn't crush her heart just yet. For now, she'd try to keep Mimi hopeful and high spirited, " Of course, Meems. And one day, you're gonna find that guy and feel stupid for even questioning it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well for starters, you're one of the most beautiful girls I have ever met. You have a pure heart, and even though _you_ think you're selfish, you're one of the most selfless people I know. You're a lot stronger than you look, too. You've been through so much, and one day some guy's gonna take notice of that and fall head over heels for you. I don't know why you always worry about being alone...you're not going to be alone, Mimi. You're not meant to be alone."

At this point, tears had started rolling down Sora's cheeks, and Mimi wiped her own eyes before taking hold of Sora's hand again. Sora apologized for her tears, and Mimi chuckled and smiled sweetly at her best friend.

There was a small silence as Mimi waited for Sora to settle down again. The waiter had come over to place bread on the table, and Mimi quickly grabbed one and started to butter it before placing it in her mouth. She noticed that Sora wasn't eating and was, instead, gazing at the table with a deep look in her ruby eyes.

"Hey, Sora..." Mimi started as she got her roommate's attention, "Are you still in love with Yamato?" She continued hesitantly.

Sora quickly stiffened in her seat, and her heart started to pound forcefully in her chest.

"Sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, but you've been getting really upset every time we talk about men and love...so I was just curious," Mimi explained, sympathetically looking at Sora.

Honestly, Sora had discovered last week that she, in fact, was in love with Taichi. She figured that since she felt that way about her best friend, Yamato was out of the picture for good. But for some reason, the image of him came into her mind after Mimi had brought him up, and she couldn't stop her already anxious heart from beating faster.

Sora grabbed the napkin in her lap tightly. Well, Yamato was her first love. Yamato was her first _everything_, so of course she'd always feel something for him. God, why did all this have to run through her head right now?

"Mimi...I think I'll always love him. T-Tell me, is that so wrong?"

Mimi bit her lip, "I don't know, Sora-"

"But I'm perfectly capable of falling in love again, I know I am. But...I feel like Yamato has a part of me, and I don't think I'll ever get it back."

"In that case," Mimi started with a smile, "It's okay to still love him. I understand, I'll always feel that way with Michael, but I would never get back with Michael after everything that's happened, just like you should never get back with Yamato. It's okay to still love him, Sora, but don't let him stop you from living your life."

Sora nodded her head slowly and continued to stare at the table. It was all the same things that she'd heard in the past. It didn't really make her feel better. She thought of Taichi's goofy grin and loving embrace, and quickly came back to reality. Oh god, how was she going to do this?

"Is that why you turned down Willis?" Mimi asked curiously. Sora's head shot up to look into her eyes and she quickly tried to think of something to say. Would now be the right time to just come out and say it?

"N-No, Meems, that's not the reason why. I just-...I didn't want to date Willis. Even though he's a good guy, I just felt insecure near him after everything-"

"But you shouldn't, Sora! He likes you a lot, and I think you should give him a shot. I know I've been telling you this for the past week, but its so sweet the way he adores you. Boy, if someone adored me that much, I'd at least give him a chance," Mimi explained with pleading eyes. Sora fidgeted with the napkin under her table.

Mimi sighed at Sora's silence and placed her head into her right hand, "You're impossible." She stated with a pout.

Sora bit her lip and thought to herself. Maybe she should just tell Mimi the truth after dessert. This way, at least enough endorphins will have released in her brain so she won't be _as_ angry-

"Sora...I don't know what to do. I can't get over Taichi."

Sora's heart dropped, and she was suddenly paying attention to every word coming out of Mimi's pink lips.

"I-I mean, I know he's not interested in me, but I can't help but hope that there's still a chance for me. See, the fact that you won't even give Willis the light of day upsets me so much. What if Taichi's thinking the same thing about me?"

Sora couldn't take it. She wanted to cover her ears as Mimi continued.

"What if he doesn't want to give me chance because he's creeped out?"

Sora had no idea what to do. She prayed Mimi would stop talking.

"I mean, we _did_ sleep together that one night-"

That was the breaking point.

"Taichi and I are together!" Sora blurted out clumsily. She didn't realize how loudly she had said it because she didn't notice the people around them turn to look at their table. Sora gazed into Mimi's confused look and quickly started to panic. Should she wait for Mimi to say something?

"What? What do you mean, he's not even here-" Mimi cut herself off as the words Sora blurted replayed in her head a couple times, "...Taichi and you are...together?"

Sora nodded her head softly and pressed her lips together to keep in her tears. She couldn't read the look on Mimi's face, and grasped even tighter to the napkin on her lap.

"Together...as in _together,_ together?" she asked in shock again.

"Yes, Mimi..."

There was silence. Sora thought she was going to pass out from everything going on until she heard Mimi's sweet voice bust out into laughter. She looked up at her roommate incredulously, who was holding her stomach as she wheezed in her fit of giggles. Sora had no idea how to react, so she just watched in bewilderment. Was this a good sign?

"You...you and _Taichi_...together?" she stated in between giggles before laughing out loud again. Sora was blushing now, and she quickly knit her brows together and sat up straighter.

"Mimi, I'm serious!"

That didn't stop her laughing.

"You and _Taichi_? The man you consider your..._brother_!" she paused to breathe from her laughter, "Oh my god, Sora...this is the best joke...I have heard...in a long time!"

As Mimi's laughter started to die down, Sora gazed at her with sympathy and hurt. It was the seriousness of Sora's look that made Mimi snap out of her fit. All of a sudden, Mimi was wiping the tears that had formed in her eyes from her giggles, and she was gazing back at Sora disbelievingly.

"What-...what do you mean by 'together,' Sora?"

Tears spilled down Sora's cheeks once more as she wrung the napkin in her hands.

"I'm in love with him...and we're together. We're a couple."

* * *

Hikari smiled as she graded the tests that were given out in her class today. It never ceased to amaze Hikari how some children went above and beyond her expectations, but others seemed to not care and draw doodles as answers to the questions asked on the test. How simple was like when you were a child? The biggest worry in the world is passing a test, or getting to that next level in 'Donkey Madness.' Hikari wished she could go back to that age, and stay there forever.

A slight knock on the door caused Hikari to look up from her stack of papers on the small dining table, and smile at the individual walking into the room.

"My my, someone's looking spiffy," Hikari teased with a grin. She laughed when a grin similar to hers greeted her back, "Did you just get back from work?"

Taichi closed the door behind him, dressed in a full on suit, and dramatically sat down on the chair next to his sister, dropping his suitcase on the floor.

"Yeah, I just did. God, I think I'm gonna die in that office. If I don't come home one day, that's probably where I'll be," he explained as he rested his head on the wooden table. Hikari smiled sympathetically as she rubbed her brother's back.

"You should be careful, Tai. Don't overwork and stress yourself out," she advised as he groaned into the table. Ignoring her words, he sat up straight again and looked around the apartment.

"Did Sora and Mimi come back yet?"

Hikari noticed the anxiousness in his voice and chuckled, "No, they haven't. The only other people here right now are Miyako and Ken, who are in my room about to go to sleep. Why? Are you waiting for Mimi to come home?" She asked teasingly. She knew about Taichi and Mimi's short-lived past, and Mimi's current love for her brother.

Taichi sighed and rubbed his forehead, giving his sister a stern look as he did so.

"Stop, Hikari, it's not like that. I don't like Mimi in that way, okay?"

"Well, you be the one to break it to her, because I'm not going to," Hikari retorted with a smile. This made Taichi wince and look down at the table. Too bad Hikari didn't know that she wouldn't have to worry about that...Sora was in the middle of breaking it to Mimi at that very moment.

Hikari noticed her brother's silence and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He didn't look up and continued to stare into space.

"Are you okay, Taichi?"

He quickly snapped out of his trance and forced a smile for Hikari.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just stressing out about that promotion, as usual."

Hikari nodded her head and sighed, looking back down at her stack of test papers.

Taichi analyzed his baby sister and quickly sat straighter in his seat, "Are _you_ okay, Kari? I haven't really gotten a chance to properly talk to you about-...well, the whole spin the bottle incident."

Hikari looked into her brother's brown eyes softly and then smiled reassuringly, "I'm better, Taichi. I think I needed a break, actually. I've had a lot of time to think."

"Oh? So, what have you been thinking about?"

Hikari chuckled before placing her pen on the table and sitting back in her chair. She looked up at her brother before scratching her chin.

"I've been thinking about how it's in the Yagami family genes to be terrible with commitment."

This made Taichi laugh, and Hikari joined him. As their chuckled died down, Taichi glanced at his sister sweetly before nudging her with his elbow, "I didn't think you'd be terrible with commitment."

"Yeah, I didn't think I would be either. I don't get it...I really do love Takeru, but-..."

"But what?"

Hikari looked down at the table and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know..."

"God, _please_ don't tell me you wanna be with Daisuke. I might have to puke."

Hikari blushed, "N-No, it's not like that..."

Taichi didn't seem convinced, but Hikari decided she'd keep her mouth shut. She really didn't want to be with Daisuke, but she couldn't explain her weird feelings for him lately. She was still trying to figure all that out.

"You know, I've got Daisuke to be my slave for as long as I want. He's been making me food and doing my laundry for the past two weeks," Taichi explained with a grin. Hikari just gave her brother a scolding look.

"That's terrible, Taichi, leave him alone. Besides, do you _really_ wanna eat food that Daisuke has cooked? You might die of food poisoning."

Taichi laughed, "Believe it or not, he's not that bad of a cook. He's a little clumsy in the kitchen, but he's pretty good."

Hikari smiled and looked up fondly at her brother. No matter what Daisuke did, or no matter how lost that boy was, Taichi always considered him a little brother. It made Hikari's fondness for Daisuke increase even more, much to her dismay. Hikari quickly shook the thoughts from her head.

"You know, I don't think you'd be that bad at commitment either, Taichi, I think you just have to give it a try," Hikari explained with a chuckle. Taichi glanced at her before looking down at the table with a foreign smile. This made Hikari raise a brow. Was her brother thinking about a girl in particular?

"Yeah, I don't think I'd be too bad at it, either."

* * *

"F-For how long...?"

"Well...it all sort of happened at Yamato's wedding."

"What!"

Sora tried to shush her shaken roommate. She knew that Mimi was still plagued with disbelief.

Mimi looked at Sora with a look of confusion and shock, "At you're ex-boyfriend's wedding? Really?"

Sora winced and looked down at the table, but Mimi continued to look at her incredulously. The waiter had come by to drop of their meals a few minutes ago, but neither of the women had touched their food.

"Mimi...I'm so sorry. I was so upset at the rehearsal dinner, and Taichi was amazing and took care of me. I-It just sort of happened...and I had had a few drinks by then, so I wasn't thinking as properly as I should have been-...a-and he was the one who was there for me when I needed him, like he always is. I'm so sorry, Meems," Sora explained sloppily as she wiped more stray tears away. Mimi was now looking at the table, her mouth slightly open as she tried to take it all in. There was a brief silence until Mimi spoke up.

"You slept with him?"

Sora didn't say anything, she just looked down at her hands. Mimi knew what that meant.

"Sora...Yamato's wedding? You _knew_ I liked him at the time! We-...he and I were doing so well together up until the wedding," Mimi paused as realization dawned on her face, "No wonder he was being so odd with me after Yamato's wedding! He'd already come back in love with _you_."

"I know, Mimi, I know. I'm so sorry, I know you probably hate me. I've been the worst friend..."

Mimi didn't say anything and looked back at the table, deep in thought.

"What a sleaze..."

Sora glanced up at Mimi's words with confusion. Mimi was glaring at the table before she looked back up into Sora's eyes.

"He slept with me, and then he goes to the wedding and sleeps with you? The nerve of him-"

"Mimi, you guys have never had sex..."

Mimi quickly shut her mouth and raises a brow, "What're you talking about-"

"You were so drunk that night after the bar, Taichi just made you go to sleep. You guys didn't have sex..."

There was more of a silence until Mimi sat back in her seat, her face completely embarrassed, "My god, I'm such an idiot..." she whispered to herself. Sora bit her lip and fidgeted more with her napkin.

"W-Wait, this doesn't make sense. After the wedding, h-he was still giving me mixed signals..." Mimi trailed to herself. Sora looked up at Mimi again and nodded.

"I didn't want to ruin my friendship with Taichi, and I felt so guilty about sleeping with him at the wedding that, at first, I didn't want to be with him like that...but later, after that night at the club-"

Mimi groaned, "The night he went to drop you back to our apartment. The night you _knew_ I wanted to tell him my feelings?"

Sora winced yet again, and didn't say anything, as she looked back down at her napkin.

"So...you guys have been together ever since?" Mimi asked quietly. Sora nodded her head and continued to look at her napkin shamefully.

"_God_, you're the girl he's 'dating from work?'" she asked quietly, more to herself than to Sora. Sora couldn't take this anymore. She knew she deserved all the pain she was feeling, though, because Mimi probably felt ten-times more hurt, "Why didn't you just tell me from the beginning, Sora? _Why_?"

Sora glanced into her hurt hazel eyes, "I-I don't know what to say, Mimi. It's because I'm a terrible best friend."

* * *

Takeru sat on the curb outside Yamato's large apartment complex, his back hunched over as his chin rested on his knees. He listened as his sneakers crushed some pebbles from the roadside, finding the cracking sound soothing.

"So, after a half hour's worth of persuading Daisuke to stay upstairs at my apartment, he wanted me to tell you that he's sorry, and that you guys should really talk everything out."

Takeru chuckled dryly before crushing more stones under his shoe. Yamato sighed as he took a seat next to Takeru on the curb, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his jeans. He offered one to Takeru, who politely declined and watched his brother light up one of the cigarettes.

"So, are you guys fighting over a woman?" Yamato asked as he took drag from his cigarette.

Takeru smirked, "We're not necessarily 'fighting over' her..."

"Please don't tell me this woman is Hikari Yagami," Yamato stated with a chuckle.

Takeru turned his head to his brother incredulously, "How did you know?"

"I figured, at one point, you two would be pining for her at the same time. I mean, Daisuke's been in love with her since grade school...and I knew you would really fall for her one day, too."

Takeru watched as the smoke that left Yamato's lips twirled in the late night air.

"So, what's the whole story?" Yamato asks quietly, glancing at Takeru before bringing the cigarette to his lips again. Takeru clutched his knees closer to his chest and sighed, trying to crush more rocks with his feet.

"Hikari and I have been together for eight months now. We'd kept it a secret until after your wedding. Well, during this stupid game that we were all playing two weeks ago, I found that she and Daisuke had some sort of fling back in college...and she hadn't told me about it. I don't know, it really got to me. I thought we told each other everything. That, and the fact that Hikari's always been kind awkward when we talked about our future made me feel like we weren't on the same page anymore. So, I told her that we should take a break...and see what happens."

Yamato stayed quiet for a couple seconds before looking at his brother.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think Daisuke's all about Bianca right now. If there was anything going on between Hikari and Daisuke, I'm sure he wouldn't be seeing Bianca as often as he does."

"But it's not even that. I know they're not doing anything, but I have a feeling that Hikari's not telling me something...I think she might have some repressed feelings for him."

Yamato stayed quiet as Takeru continued.

"Me and him...we're complete opposites. We want different things. I want a steady girlfriend with a future. Someone who I can spoil and take care of. Daisuke wants a girl he can sleep around with..."

"Takeru, stop thinking so much into it-"

"I can't _help_ it. I don't want to lose her...I hope that once she figures everything out, I'll be the one she choses."

Yamato smirked, "You know, if you wanted her to be yours, you shouldn't have taken a break on your relationship."

"But if I hadn't, and she realized somewhere later down the line that I'm not the right kind of guy for her, then it would hurt so much more..."

This seemed to keep Yamato's clever mouth shut, and Takeru sighed as he put his head on his knees, closing his eyes as he listened to cars drive by.

"You're stronger than this, Takeru. If she does decide not come back to you, be strong about it okay?"

Takeru lifted up his head and nodded it slowly. For some reason, he felt so much better letting everything off of his chest. He suddenly found himself wishing that his brother lived closer to him, maybe even back into the same building.

"Thanks, Yamato, for listening."

He smiled as he put out his cigarette on the road, "Don't thank me for being a big brother. I mean, I've been a pretty shitty one for the past few years, so I don't deserve a 'thanks.'"

Takeru laughed at his comment, but didn't disagree with it. It made Yamato smile again.

There was a small silence between the two brothers for a few minutes as the chilly breeze ruffled blond hair. Yamato looked up at the sky before turning back to glance at Takeru.

"So, how is everyone back home?"

Takeru shrugged, "I think things could be better. I don't know, there's been a weird tension lately. Everyones stressed out because of work."

"Well, what else is new," Yamato states sarcastically, earning him another chuckle from his younger brother. Yamato glanced at Takeru cautiously before looking up at the sky, "How's Sora?"

Takeru turned his head to face Yamato fully with a questioning look on his face. Yamato shrugged and waited for Takeru to answer his query.

"She's been good. Nothing new that I know of, anyway," Takeru answered carefully, waiting for Yamato's reactions. The older blond just nodded his head and pulled out another cigarette. This made Takeru groan and grab it from his fingers.

"You can kill your lungs with cigarettes all you want, but I'm not trying to suffocate from secondhand smoke."

* * *

The rest of dinner was absolutely awkward and tense. Mimi hadn't said a word and tried to eat her meal quietly. She would glance up at Sora a couple times before bringing her attention back to her food. Sora hadn't really touched her meal. She couldn't bring herself to eat.

As the roommates drove back, Sora glanced at Mimi from the driver's seat every few minutes to see what she was doing. Mimi didn't really do much but stare out the window, and Sora had no idea how to proceed.

"Mimi...?"

No response. Sora sighed softly before continuing.

"What are you thinking about?"

More silence. Sora decided to just keep her mouth shut and get them both back home safely. After they were back, Sora decided she'd go sit in a corner and cry about all this. She'd singlehandedly ruined her relationship with Mimi...she'd done it all by herself.

As Sora pulled up into the parking lot behind the apartment complex, Mimi was the first to walk out once Sora parked the car. Sora was trying to keep up right behind her, but she didn't know what else to do. How could they sleep in the same room tonight if Mimi wasn't even speaking to her? God, this was such a mess...

"You know...I don't hate you, Sora. I could never hate you..." Mimi stated quietly as they both walked up the stairs. Sora bit the insides of her mouth to keep herself from crying, and all she could muster was a pathetic nod. As they go to their floor, Mimi grabbed onto Sora's hand and pulled her into a short embrace. Sora let some more tears escape, but she quickly wiped them away.

"I don't want you to cry..." Mimi explained, her eyes still filled with betrayal, but also filled with compassion. She didn't want to see Sora hurting this bad...even though Mimi's heart was completely broken. She couldn't blame Sora for what happened...Taichi was her best friend and if Mimi couldn't have Taichi, then Sora was definitely a good alternative.

But at the same time, Mimi was furious. She wanted Sora to hurt, and wanted Sora to feel the pain that she herself was feeling. She wasn't even upset at the fact that she lost Taichi...she was more hurt by the fact that Sora didn't tell her the truth from the beginning. She was hurt that Sora just let Mimi embarrass herself in front of Taichi when she clearly knew he wasn't interested.

"Do you forgive me?" Sora asked, looking at her hopefully. Mimi pursed her lips and started walking back towards their apartment door. It was too early for forgiveness. Sora bit her lip and followed Mimi, unlocking the door once they both had reached it.

As the two women walked in, they both turned to look at the round dining table where Hikari and Taichi were sitting, chatting happily. Both girls made eye contact with Taichi when he turned around in his seat to look towards the door. All that was present was silence until Hikari spoke up.

"H-Hey guys, how was dinner?" she asked cautiously, feeling the tension.

That one question, along with Taichi's undeniably handsome face, somehow lit Mimi's fuse, and the cinnamon-haired girl quickly started marching to her room. Sora and Taichi desperately glanced at each other before Sora called out Mimi's name.

"Mimi, wait-"

"No, I'm not waiting! I don't want to hear a word from either of you," she yelled with frustration to Taichi and Sora, her hazel eyes suddenly filling with tears and rage, "Sora, how could you do this to me? You knew how much I liked him, and you knew how hurt I was after everything that happened with Michael!"

Taichi stood up, "Meems, please calm down-"

"Don't tell me to calm down, Taichi Yagami, if this is anyone else's fault it's _yours_! You also knew how I felt, but you played me like a doll right up until you slept with Sora!" Mimi spat, her eyes furiously glaring at both of them. This quickly got Hikari's attention, and Hikari's head snapped in the direction of Sora and her brother.

"You guys slept together...?" Hikari asked softly.

"Yes, Hikari, they did. And you know what? I hope you two are happy together," she shouted, about to turn around until Sora started walking up to her.

"Mimi, _please_, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you-"

"You didn't mean to hurt me? You didn't _mean_ to hurt me? That's a lie and you know it!" Mimi exclaimed, pointing her finger accusingly at her roommate. At this point, Miyako and Ken had come out of their room, and Miyako groggily rubbed her eyes.

"Guys, would you mind keeping it down-" Miyako started, but Ken quickly nudged her to be quiet. He could tell something drastic was happening, and didn't want Miyako to interrupt.

"Mimi, I would never purposely hurt you, you know that-"

"Really, Sora? You knew everything that had happened with Michael. You were the first person I ever told! You should know better than _anyone_ that I do not take betrayal lightly, and the fact that you took a _month_ to tell me the goddamn truth shows that you did mean to hurt me!"

Sora looked at her incredulously as her own anger flared up, "How does that mean I was trying to hurt you on purpose? I'm guilty of being a coward, but not of intentionally hurting you!"

"God, I can't believe you! Do you know how embarrassing it was to go on for a _month_ thinking that I still had a chance to be with him? I even told you about it all the time, and you would just sit there and listen to me! You had plenty of chances to tell me the truth, what the heck is wrong with you?"

Sora was about to say something in return, but Taichi quickly walked up behind her and put a hand to her shoulder. Mimi shook her head at this and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm not even that angry at the fact that you're with him. I'm furious that you lied to me and betrayed our trust! God," Mimi paused again to let out a choked sob, "You were the _last _person I thought would ever hurt me, and I almost feel just as embarrassed as I did that day Michael shut his damned door in my face. God, you're just as bad as him." Mimi knew she didn't mean what she had just said, but she was just so angry. She couldn't stop the words from spewing out of her mouth.

Sora was crying now, too, looking down at the floor and trying to hold herself together as best as she could. Miyako got out of Ken's hold and walked over to Mimi boldly.

"Mimi, what are you saying? Sora's your best friend, and look, you're making her cry! How can you compare her to Michael, that's not even fair-"

"Miyako-" Ken stated cautiously, but Mimi cut him off before he could finish.

"Miyako, people have always betrayed me," Mimi started, her cries coming back, "First my parents, then Michael, and now Sora. If I can't even trust my best friend, then tell me Miyako, who can I trust in this messed up world? You tell me!"

Miyako stayed speechless and was still confused as to what was going on. Hikari and Ken quickly walk up to her and pull her away from the whole scene, even though she was arguing with them to let her talk to Mimi.

"Meems," Taichi spoke up cautiously from behind Sora, taking a step towards her.

"No, don't come near me. I'm done with this conversation, and I'm done with you two," Mimi declared before defiantly walking to her room and shutting the door loudly behind her. The room was eerily silent except for the sound of Sora's sniffles. Taichi turned her towards him and she automatically started crying into his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.

"I've ruined everything..."

"Sh, Sor, stop it. You didn't ruin anything, Mimi was just really upset and overreacting a little bit-"

"N-No, she's right. After everything that's happened to her, I'm terrible to have hurt her this badly."

Hikari walked up to Sora now and rubbed her back soothingly as Taichi held her, "It's alright, Sora, Mimi just needs to sleep this all off. She didn't mean half of the things she said, I know she didn't."

Hikari didn't get a response except for the sound of Sora's sniffles. Sora didn't want to show her face. She kept her face buried in Taichi's shoulder; she felt too ashamed to have anyone see her like this.

Hikari glanced at her brother with concern, and Taichi bit his lip as closed his eyes in annoyance. This was never supposed to get so out of hand.

"Let me talk to Mimi-" Hikari started.

"No, Hikari, just let her be. It's fine, I'll take Sora into my room tonight, and they both can talk it over again tomorrow."

"No," Sora choked, pulling away from Taichi, "I'm not sleeping in your room. We can't do this, Tai. We can't be together, not while Mimi's so angry with us. We just can't." She started sobbing softly again, burying her face into her hands.

Taichi raised a brow, "Sor, what're you talking about? Stop being so dramatic-"

"No, I'm serious! I can't hurt her, Taichi, she wouldn't want me sleeping in your room-"

"Wait, you guys are together?" Miyako asked incredulously, her mouth hanging agape. Hikari groaned, feeling a headache growing from all the drama that had just ensued. Hikari gave Ken a pleading look, and the detective quickly understood. He took Miyako's hand and guided her back into the room, even though she reluctantly complied.

Once they were back inside, Hikari glanced at her brother who was standing angrily in front of a semi-hysterical Sora. She wouldn't listen to him and go back to his apartment, claiming that it would be 'messed up' on her part after everything that had just happened.

"Sora, I'll sleep on the goddamn couch, just come back to my apartment."

She shook her head and wiped her tears, glaring at him for no reason other than she was upset and distraught. Hikari walked over to Sora and squeezed her arm.

"Sora, just listen to him, okay? I know you don't want to, but it might be better for you and Mimi to just spend tonight away from each other. I'll wake you up early in the morning and get you, I promise."

Sora glanced at Hikari for a few seconds before sighing and heading towards the entrance door angrily. Taichi shook his head disappointingly and thanked his sister before following after Sora, closing the door behind both of them.

For a second, Hikari just stood by herself in the living room before plopping herself down on the couch to reflect on what had just happened. What was happening to their group? They were falling apart.

Hikari let out one last sigh.

Well, hell hath no fury like broken women.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Ah, please don't be angry! So sorry I haven't updated in like four months, but I've been really busy with school. But I've aced all my classes and I'm back for break, so I should also have another chapter out shortly! I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I figured I shouldn't keep you all waiting much longer. Thank you so much for all the reviews and PMs, they've really helped me keep going. Hope you like this chapter more than I do! :)

* * *

Watching the clock tick down had become a new habit at work for Sora lately. Ever since last week, she'd glanced at the clock with dread every moment she could, and wished that time would slow down and delay her inevitable return back to the apartment.

But time never slowed down. If anything, the seconds would tick away faster than before, and Sora would always find herself walking back to the apartment way before she was ready to throw herself into the snake pit, again.

Mimi still hadn't forgiven her. The best friends had barely spoken to each other since Sora's confession, and Mimi was very smart about keeping her distance. The heartbroken brunette spent most of her time at the café waitressing, and only came back to the apartment to shower and sleep. Sora had made an effort everyday to try to mend things, but she was slowly starting to lose hope. Mimi did not take betrayal and embarrassment lightly, and who would blame her after everything she's been through?

Sora wasn't even sure Mimi's spite had anything to do with Taichi anymore. If anything, Mimi was acting this way because she had been cheated by her roommate; cheated by her best friend.

_"If I can't even trust my best friend, then who can I trust in this messed up world? You tell me!"_

Sora shut her eyes tightly as the lump in her throat grew bigger. Mimi's words were burned into her mind.

If Sora herself hadn't even completely forgiven Yamato for betraying her, how would Mimi ever learn to trust Sora again? Yes, Mimi had brought herself to good terms with Michael, but that also took over a year. God, the one thing Sora regretted most was not coming clean sooner. If she hadn't been such a coward, and hadn't been so adamant on defining her relationship with Taichi before telling Mimi the truth, then this whole situation would have been avoided. Mimi would have been angry, yes, but she wouldn't have shunned Sora out of her life.

"Is Kara making you help with designs today?"

Sora's head snapped up at the sound of Noriko's voice, and she blushed at the concerned look in her coworker's eyes.

"No, she has a meeting today and wants me to help her tomorrow instead."

"Well, that's nice. Now you can go home and relax!"

Sora tried to repress a groan, "…yeah, I should be heading out now, I guess. Thank you so much for helping me with all these shipment orders, Noriko, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You don't have to thank me, silly," she paused to smile sincerely, "And Sora?"

The older woman turned to look back at Noriko as she put on her coat.

"You're always welcome to stay at my place. I can tell something's been bothering you for the past week, so don't hesitate to crash at my condo if you need to get away."

Sora smiled gratefully and nodded her head before exiting the room. She hadn't told Noriko everything that had happened. She was afraid that the younger girl might look at Sora differently and think that she was a terrible person. To tell the truth, Sora felt like she _was_ a terrible person, and didn't want to hear other people confirm her belief.

Sora looked down at the ground as she left her building and started heading back home. For the past few days, she had decided not to bring her car to work. Walking back to the apartment complex was a forty-minute walk, but it was worth killing time and having a few moments to think to herself.

She contemplated how she would act around Taichi this evening. The thought of him sent shivers up her spine and she pulled her coat tighter to her body. Things haven't been so great with the two of them after last week, to say the least. It was Sora's fault. She was acting different with him because of her own guilt. In all honesty, how could she even _think_ about staying with Taichi after everything that happened? If she had caused Mimi all this pain, then she didn't deserve to be happy with Taichi. It was that simple.

Sora knew she had to stop pitying herself and try harder to make amends, but Mimi wasn't even giving her a chance. Until Mimi gave her that chance, there was no way she was going to be with Taichi. It just wasn't fair to Mimi.

Taichi's been angry with Sora and was spending more time at his office. He had told Sora to fess up to Mimi many times in the past, and Sora had been the one to drag on the secret. Now, through no fault of his own, Sora was avoiding him and pushing him away, and Taichi was growing tired of it. Sora hadn't slept in his room since the night of her confession to Mimi, partially because she wanted to get Mimi's attention by sleeping in her own bed, and partially because she didn't want to be around Taichi. Her decision was pointless, however, because Mimi wouldn't even acknowledge Sora when she went to bed at night.

The atmosphere of all three apartments had changed drastically. Everyone was spending more time at work, either out of awkwardness or lack of things to do. Miyako and Hikari were also suffering emotionally from all this. They refused to side with either Mimi or Sora, and had tried to stay as neutral as they could, but Sora knew it was hard for either of them to do so. Hikari pitied Sora because she knew how much Taichi missed her, and Miyako sided with Mimi because she understood Mimi's pain of betrayal. Sora realized that both of her younger roommates acted normally until either Mimi or Sora walked through the door. Then, they both become equally awkward and would go their separate ways.

How did this whole situation cause a rift between everyone? Sora bit her lip and forcefully tried to keep her tears at bay. This was _all_ her fault.

The sound of her ringtone pulled Sora from her melodramatic thoughts, and she instantly furrowed her brow at the name emanating from her phone. She quickly answered.

"Mom?"

"Hello, dear…how are you?"

Sora smiled as a warm feeling spread throughout her chest at the sound of her mother's voice, "It's good to hear from you, mom. I've been okay..."

"You don't sound okay, Sora, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, just stressed out about work," Sora's parents didn't know about anything that had happened in the past few months, and she wasn't on planning on telling her mother anything about her messy relationships right now, "I actually haven't told you yet, but Kara has asked me to help with her spring clothing line, so I'm pretty busy these days."

"That's wonderful, Sora! I'm so proud of you."

This made Sora chuckle. As a young girl, Sora and her mother hadn't gotten along very well. She was convinced her mother never understood her, and because of their shaky relationship, it had been impossible for Sora to ever make her mother proud. As she grew older, however, Sora realized a lot about her mom. Her mother was only looking out for Sora's best interests and well being, so she had learned to respect and appreciate her mother much more over the years. She realized that it must have been tough for her mom to have to raise a daughter without much help from her husband. Sora's dad was usually at work out of town, and barely spent much time at home.

"So, how's everything at home? How's dad?"

There was silence for a few seconds, and this made Sora raise a brow.

"Mom? Are you still there?"

"Sora…there's something you need to know."

This statement made Sora's heart race, and she quickly stopped in her tracks to steady herself.

"What is it? Is everything okay? Is dad alright?"

"Sora dear, your father and I...we're getting a divorce."

Silence filled her ears. Had she heard it correctly? No, this couldn't be right. Sure, Sora's father was rarely ever around, but her parents' marriage was still strong. Whenever her dad _was_ home, it was as if he was always around. This just couldn't be right.

"Sora? Please say something," her mother pleaded desperately, "I didn't want to tell you over the phone, b-but your father and I just couldn't keep this from you for any longer. We decided a couple of nights ago to—"

Sora cleared her throat as she pressed her hand against her forehead.

"I—um, I don't understand…you and dad…You've both been married for over twenty-five years, h-how could you decide _now_ to get a-a—…"

Mrs. Takenouchi sighed deeply, "I know this is tough to hear, sweetie, but it's for the best," she stated.

Sora glared at the ground, "How is this for the best, mom? Breaking apart our family...why are you guys doing this?"

"Sora, please, I'm not asking you to understand. I'm just letting you know what's happening. Please, come home, just let me and your father explain—"

"No, explain everything to me _right now_."

Sora could hear another voice in the background and instantly recognized it as her father's. A sharp aching filled her chest, and she desperately wanted to sit down and calm her shaking knees.

She could tell that her were parents arguing in the background. Her mother's voice towards her father was laced with spite and anger. It made Sora worry even more.

"Hi, honey…"

Tears instantly filled her eyes at the sound of her dad's deep voice, "Dad, what's going on? W-Why is this all happening? I thought everything was fine. When I came home a few months ago, everything was perfect—"

"I'm _so_ sorry, honey…"

The guilt in his voice was enough for Sora to put the pieces together, but she refused to believe her conclusions.

"…What did you do, dad?"

There was a slight pause before he spoke up, "Our marriage had been falling apart since you were in high school, sweetheart. We tried to keep the family together for your sake, but I'm afraid we both can't do it anymore. Please try to understand…"

Sora clenched her jaw tightly, "You cheated on mom…didn't you?"

There was no answer. It was all she needed to know.

"I-I'm sorry, but I have to go," Sora announced abruptly as she approached the apartment complex. Her stomach was in knots and her head was spinning. She couldn't believe all this. It couldn't be real.

"Sora, please, just let us explain—"

"I think you're the only one with explaining to do, dad, and I honestly don't want to hear it."

With that, Sora hung up her phone forcefully and shoved it into her purse. She stared at the ground she was standing on and bit her lip to keep her tears from spilling onto the sidewalk. Why was everything falling apart?

Even though her dad wasn't around much during her childhood, Sora was closer to him than she ever was to her mother. How could he do this? He was the man she looked up to her entire life…she couldn't fathom the idea of him being unfaithful. How could he do this to her mother? How could he do this to their family?

Sora slowly walked up the stairs, engrossed in her thoughts, without realizing that she was almost in front of her apartment door. As she unlocked it and entered the room, the sight of Mimi dressed casually in her waitress uniform, sitting poised at the dining table made her stop in her tracks. She had almost forgotten about all of the other drama, and once everything came back to her like a ton of bricks smashing against her head, Sora almost wanted to faint.

Her roommate turned her head as Sora walked through the door and froze. She probably wasn't expecting Sora to be back home so early today because she was usually with Kara working on designs.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them, and the tension could only be cut with a steak knife. Sora closed the door behind her and decided to speak up first.

"Hi, Meems…"

Mimi turned back to the table and offered a short, "Hey," in response to the redhead as she gathered up her things. Sora desperately wanted to say something just to start up a conversation, but before Sora could think of anything to spit out, Mimi swiftly got up from the table and headed towards the coat rack. Sora solemnly stepped aside as Mimi exited the apartment without even bidding her best friend a small farewell.

As Mimi closed the door forcefully behind her, Sora leaned back on it and slid down to the floor. She pressed her head back against the wood and closed her eyes tightly. She had never felt so alone in her entire life.

* * *

Iori's lips curled up into a small smile as Noriko made her way out of Mrs. Nakamura's work building. She looked so radiant in her long pink skirt and brown coat that Iori could barely look away.

"Why, hello there," she stated with a grin before embracing him securely around the neck. Iori chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist just as tightly.

"How was work?" he asked as he pulled away and started walking down the sidewalk with Noriko striding comfortably beside him. She latched her arm to his and sighed tiredly.

"Stressful. Kara has me and Sora working like dogs for her new spring line, and while Sora's helping Kara with designs, I'm the only one there working on shipments so it gets a little hectic."

"I'm sure you do fine. Sora used to brag about you all the time back at home."

Noriko softened her gaze as she looked down at the sidewalk thoughtfully before glancing back at the law student, "Is everything okay with Sora? She hasn't been telling me much, but I can tell that something's wrong…"

All Iori could do was let out a stifled sigh. He wasn't surprised that Sora hadn't opened up to her coworker; Sora was always very good at keeping her work-life and home-life separated. In all honestly, Iori wasn't sure where to even begin to tell Noriko everything that was going on because he wasn't so sure himself. He was too busy with exams to keep updated with the drama going back at home.

"Well, all I know is that Sora and Taichi have been together for the past month or so, and when Sora finally confessed to Mimi, she didn't really take the news very well."

"Oh, she finally told her, huh?"

Iori raised a brow, "You knew about all this?"

"Well, Sora would tell me things every now and then, but never in detail. I knew she was with that Taichi character, and she'd been telling me about Mimi's crush on him for months now."

Iori nodded his head slowly and shrugged his shoulders, "Mimi hasn't been talking to Sora for the past week, and apparently Sora's been avoiding Taichi so there's a lot of tension back at home. I just try to avoid it, I stay at the campus library all day so I don't really know exactly what's happening."

"Well…how are classes, anyway?" Noriko asked sweetly, changing the topic knowing that Iori wasn't in the mood to talk about it. This made him smile, again.

"I'm actually doing pretty well in my classes right now. The term's almost over soon, so I'll be a free man after that."

Noriko laughed and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, causing Iori to blush, "I'm so proud of you. We should celebrate once you're done," she explained with a flirty wink. Iori blushed even more.

Iori's phone started to vibrate before he could properly respond to Noriko's comments. He quickly pulled the device out of his pocket and glanced at the name illuminating on the screen. He tried not to groan out loud. Clenching his jaw tightly, Iori ignored the phone call and placed the phone back in his pocket.

"What was that all about?"

He glanced at Noriko's confused face and tried to play off the whole situation as best as he could, "Oh, it was nothing, just my mom trying to call me."

Noriko didn't buy it.

"Well, if it's your mom, shouldn't you pick up? She's probably worried about you."

"N-No, she has a tendency to ramble…"

Here he started all over again. Iori thought he was done with the lying and secrets, but he couldn't seem to get away from all of that because of _her_. Why wouldn't _she_ just leave him alone and get out of his life?

As if Akina knew that Iori was mentally cursing her off, she continued to call and Iori's phone started vibrating again. Iori tried to ignore it and keep walking, but Noriko stopped in her tracks and unlinked her arm from Iori's.

"You know, Iori, I should probably just head home. It's getting late…"

He could see the pained look in her eyes and quickly tried to redeem himself.

"Noriko—"

"Look, I know we've been seeing each other for almost a month now, and I know that we're not official, but I don't want to work backwards, Iori. I feel like you're always not telling me something, and I don't want us to keep seeing each other if we're not going to trust each other."

He remained silent and placed his hands in his pocket. As if on cue, his phone started vibrating again. Noriko glanced at his pocket and then back into his eyes questioningly. Iori had no idea what to say. He wanted to tell Noriko about Akina, he really did, but he was afraid of what Noriko might think of him. Everything was going so well with Noriko, he didn't want to ruin it. This wasn't the first time Iori was being shady to Noriko about Akina, and he knew Noriko would start to put the pieces together eventually.

"Okay, I'm just going to head home. Call me later if you want to talk," she stated softly at his silence before turning on her heel and walking in the other direction. Iori grasped the phone in his pocket tightly before glaring at the sky and answering it.

"What do you want, Akina? This was a really bad time—"

"Iori…"

His stomach clenched at the choking sound of her voice. She was crying.

"Iori, I don't know what to do," she cried again, her familiar voice echoing in his ear. No, he wasn't going to involve himself in this. He refused to go down this road again.

"Akina, whatever the problem is, I'm sure your _husband_ can—"

"I-I'm pregnant…and the baby might be yours."

There was a moment of silence before Iori dropped his phone absentmindedly onto the sidewalk.

* * *

Hikari hesitantly walked up the stairs of her apartment building and trudged down the hallway. It wasn't a pleasure to be home this week. She was never a fan of drama, but lately, everyone just seemed to despise each other, and she absolutely hated it.

On top of all the Sora and Mimi drama, Hikari still hadn't properly talked to Takeru. She heard from Daisuke that they both bumped into each other at Yamato's apartment, but all she knew is that Takeru fled as soon as he saw Daisuke. She hated that she created a rift between the two friends. The fact that they both couldn't even be in the same room pained her so much. She even felt guilty hanging around Daisuke so much, so she would leave work later just to avoid coming back home with him.

Everything was becoming very confusing for the elementary school teacher. On one hand, she wanted Takeru back so much that it was killing her, and on the other hand, she couldn't stop thinking about Daisuke. In the end, however, she knew she'd have to forfeit her feelings for Daisuke if she wanted to keep Takeru, _and_ if she wanted to reduce the drama in these apartments.

Hikari clutched the doorknob to her apartment tightly. She didn't have _feelings_ for Daisuke, right? That wasn't what she meant. There were no 'feelings' involved, just a little…_intrigue_. Yes, she was just suddenly intrigued by Daisuke, she didn't have feelings for him…

Shaking her head profusely, Hikari opened the door and walked into the living room. As she set her bag down on the round dining table, she could hear bustling in Mimi and Sora's room. Hikari contemplated whether or not she should check up on whoever was in there, but she knew better than to get herself involved. Both Mimi and Sora kept to themselves, and whenever either Miyako or Hikari tried to help, both older women would push themselves away and hold everything in. It was a lost cause to help either of them, especially when both women were very stubborn.

A few seconds later, Miyako bustled into the apartment with Ken closely behind her. The two were laughing at something as they walked in holding hands. Hikari tried not to stare in jealousy at the couple. Hikari was slowly starting to realize how the roles had reversed for her and Miyako. She couldn't believe that Miyako was in a happy, healthy relationship while Hikari was pretty much single and very confused.

"Oh, hey Hikari, how was your day?" Miyako asked her roommate brightly. A wave of sadness flooded Hikari's chest. She forced a smile.

"It was alright. Where are you two lovebirds coming from?"

"Nowhere, Ken decided to pick me up from work," she explained with a fond smile in her boyfriend's direction. He chuckled in return and placed his arm securely around her. Ken's handsome suit and sexy belt and holster made Hikari pine for a boyfriend again. She realized that she really didn't know what she had until Takeru was gone, and her mind wandered back to the puppy-eyed blond.

The couple walked to Miyako and Hikari's room as they conversed about something Hikari didn't understand. She watched them go with a sullen look and shook her head immediately. She needed to stop pitying herself and start being happy for her roommate. It had been a long time since Miyako was in an awesome relationship, and instead of being envious of it, she should be supportive of it. Miyako deserved him. Miyako deserved true love.

There was a small crash coming from Sora and Mimi's room and Hikari quickly raised her brow. She walked over to the room and hesitantly knocked on the door. When there was no answer, she decided to enter anyway, wanting to make sure that whoever was in there wasn't hurt.

Hikari opened the door slowly and stuck her head through the crack. Sora was bustling around the room anxiously, still dressed in her clothes from work. The older woman was grabbing clothes from her closet and stuffing them into a small suitcase.

"…Sora?"

Sora's head snapped up at the sound of Hikari's soft voice. She didn't say anything, and failed at an attempt to smile. This instantly worried the younger woman.

"Are you alright? What's going on?" Hikari asked as she glanced at the suitcase on Sora's bed. The redhead tried to wipe her eyes secretively, but Hikari could tell that she had been crying. God, she hated seeing Sora like this.

"U-Um, nothing, Hikari. Just going to stay at Noriko's for tonight," she explained softly, continuing to pack. Hikari marched into the room and placed her hands on her hips.

"Why? Sora, come on, I know you and Mimi still have to work things out, but don't leave just because—"

"I'm not running away, Hikari, I promise…" Sora interrupted with a pleading look. Hikari eased her stance and sympathetically stared at her older friend.

"Then what's wrong?"

Sora smiled at the concerned look imprinted on Hikari's sweet face. This was so typical of the younger Yagami girl. She always worried about everyone else's well-being.

"I'm not giving up on Mimi, Hikari, I would never give up on her. I just have some problems at home I have to deal with…"

"Oh, I see…" Hikari replied. Sora knew she was being distant, and she also knew that Hikari hated it more than anyone. Sora threw the last bit of her items into her bag and started to zip it up.

"Will you be back tomorrow?" Hikari queried.

Sora glanced at her before looking back down at her suitcase, "No, I should be gone for three or four days."

"Sora…are you sure you're alright? You know you can talk to me, right?" Hikari pressed. She didn't want Sora to leave because of the drama between her and Mimi. She couldn't tell if something else was bothering Sora, or if she was just trying to get away.

Sora pursed her lips before shaking her head and running a few fingers through her auburn hair.

"I-It's my parents…they're going to get a divorce."

Hikari's eyes widened, "What? Oh my god, Sora, I'm so sorry…"

"No," Sora forced another smile, "Don't be sorry. It's just that my mom called me a couple hours ago to break the news, and called back again a few minutes ago crying and begging me to come home."

"The train station is closer to our apartment than to Noriko's condo, Sora. It doesn't make sense for you to go all the way there for the night," Hikari stated, walking up to Sora and placing a hand gingerly on her shoulder. Sora looked back at her bed and shook her head once again.

"I know, but I'd really rather be there tonight. Don't worry about me, Hikari, I'm fine. I'll see you in a few days, okay?" The older woman explained before embracing Hikari tightly. As she pulled away, Sora offered a reassuring smile again before grabbing her suitcase and heading towards the door.

Hikari watched her leave and bit her lip. This wasn't right. Sora shouldn't have to feel so alone in her own home. Hikari quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialed Taichi's number.

* * *

Koushiro smiled as he hung up the phone with Keiko and walked over to the counter to take a seat. Yes, he was well aware of all the tension building up between his friends, but despite all the drama, Koushiro was having a pretty good week. He looked forward to going to work every day just to see Keiko's pretty face brighten up as he walked through her door.

It was nice to feel loved and appreciated for once, and not feel as if he was in the shadows all the time. Koushiro could get used to that feeling. He could get used to Keiko. As he started rummaging through the mail on the counter, Koushiro's attention was disturbed by a very ticked off Taichi walking through the front door.

Koushiro sighed as he slammed it shut. This mood was the usual for Taichi this past week. In light of everything that had come out last Friday, Koushiro couldn't blame him for being so distraught over everything.

"Bad day at work?" he asked knowingly. Taichi scoffed.

"Terrible."

The brunette marched his way over to his room, also slamming that door shut. Koushiro sighed and went back to looking through the mail until Taichi made his way out of his room, changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater. Taichi automatically walked over to the fridge and pulled out a beer. This caught Koushiro's attention.

"You've been going through beer and liquor as if they're water, Taichi. I think you need to ease up a little with the alcohol."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," was the only response the redhead got from his friend. As Taichi opened the bottle and started walking towards his room, Koushiro quickly called out his name to stop him. Koushiro never really got a chance to talk to Taichi about everything that had happened because Taichi would hide out at his office for hours, come back home, grab something to drink, and head to his room. Maybe if Taichi could vent about everything, Koushiro could get him to stop drinking like an idiot.

"What?" Taichi barked, obviously wanting to be left alone.

Koushiro sighed, "She'll come around, you know."

Taichi's gaze instantly softened and he quickly took a swig of his beer, "I think I'm tired of waiting for her to come around."

"I highly doubt that."

Taichi glared at Koushiro's obviously true statement as he motioned for Taichi to sit across from him at the counter, and after a moment of hesitation, Taichi complied and made his way over to the stool. He offered Koushiro some of his beer, but the redhead politely declined.

"I remember how much you used to like Sora back in high school," Koushiro paused to smile, "it's been so long since then."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Taichi rolled his eyes, "Even I forgot how much I liked her until Yamato's wedding. All the feelings came rushing back after that, I guess."

Koushiro nodded and waited for Taichi to say something more. When he didn't, Koushiro spoke up again, "She's still not talking to you?"

"No, and I still don't understand why," Taichi paused to clench his jaw and run a few fingers through his hair, "This is all her fault. I told Sora to tell Mimi the truth for weeks before she actually did, and now everything's blown out of proportion."

Koushiro nodded his head slowly as he thought about Mimi. He had almost forgotten how in love the young woman was with Taichi…

"And what is Mimi's problem? I understand her being mad for a day or two, but this is just ridiculous," Taichi stated angrily before taking another swig from his bottle.

This sparked up a fire inside of Koushiro that he thought had gone out months ago. He suddenly felt very defensive of the cinnamon-haired girl, "That's not fair, Taichi, you two knew how she felt about you."

"Okay, I understand that, but she's acting like we were dating, and I cheated on her with Sora or something."

Koushiro glared, "You completely led her on, Taichi, why wouldn't she feel embarrassed and angry? The girl was madly in love with you, and instead of appreciating that, you made her believe you actually had feelings too. If this is _anyone's_ fault, it's yours for being such a jerk."

Taichi stared at Koushiro with complete surprise. The redhead instantly blushed and stammered, "I-I'm sorry, Taichi, I didn't mean that…" he lied.

There was another silence before Taichi spoke up, "No…No, you're right. I'm lashing out at everyone because I know this actually all my fault," he stopped to chuckle dryly and run more fingers through his hair.

Koushiro kept silent until a thought made him smile, "God, it must be such a curse to have so many women adore you," he stated sarcastically. Taichi looked up and chuckled genuinely this time.

"I should really go talk to Mimi. You're right, I was such a jerk to her. She didn't deserve to be treated that way…" Taichi explained guiltily.

Koushiro nodded, "Yeah that would be a good place to start."

A sly smile spread across Taichi's face as he suddenly realized something.

"You know, Koushiro, you were really quick to come to Mimi's defense just now."

Koushiro blushed once again and cleared his throat, "W-What?"

Taichi grinned, "I knew it! You like her, don't you?"

Koushiro opened his mouth to speak, but he should've known that Taichi wouldn't even give him the chance to defend himself.

"Man, I had a feeling you did ever since Mimi's birthday, but I never really thought about it."

"Taichi—"

"Wait, is that why you were being weird with me a few months ago? You were jealous, weren't you!"

"Tai—"

"And Mimi has no idea, does she? Dude, you should tell her—"

"Stop!" Koushiro interrupted, glaring at his friend across the counter. Taichi quickly shut his mouth and waited for him to continue, "I don't like Mimi like that, okay?"

"You don't have to lie to me, Kou—"

"I'm not lying. Maybe in the past I felt something for her, but that's gone now. I'm with Keiko and I'm very happy with her," Koushiro explained with a stern look. Taichi was smiling smugly and Koushiro knew that Taichi didn't believe any of his words. This made Koushiro roll his eyes.

"Focus on yourself, Taichi. Focus on fixing your relationships with Mimi and Sora before jumping into my life affairs," he stated with the shake of his head. Taichi put up his hands in defense.

"Okay, no need to get so hostile, Kou, I was just teasing."

"Well, it wasn't funny."

Taichi smiled, "Well, I need your advice on one more thing."

"What is it?" he asked grumpily, but Taichi ignored his tone of voice.

"Kari called me a while ago to tell me that Sora's going home for a few days because her parents' are getting a divorce. Hikari told me to call Sora because she seemed really upset, but that stubborn girl won't pick up any of my phone calls. I don't know what to do…"

Koushiro looked stunned, "Wow…a divorce? That's pretty intense."

"Yeah," Taichi sighed once again, "It's fine if she doesn't want my help or comfort, but…I'm really worried about her. What do I do?"

"Just give her space, Tai. Let her go home to be with her parents for a bit. If she's dodging your calls, then she obviously doesn't want to you to be involved."

Taichi groaned in frustration, "I hate women. I _hate_ them. I'm just gonna turn gay."

"Oh, shut up. You couldn't give women up even if your life depended on it," Koushiro stated as he rolled his eyes again. Taichi grinned and leaned forward to ruffle Koushiro's hair.

"You know me so well."

Koushiro scowled as he pried himself away from Taichi's hands, but couldn't help but feel satisfied for bringing a smile to his good friend's face.

* * *

Mimi hesitantly walked into the apartment and shut the door behind her. The sight of Miyako at the round dining table and Hikari sitting on the couch made her sigh in relief. The altercation with Sora a few hours ago was too awkward for Mimi to handle. She had no idea why, but every time Mimi saw Sora's disdained face, the cinnamon-haired girl couldn't help but feel a just a little bad. Sora was her best friend, and even though a part of her hated treating Sora like this, another part of her felt as if it was necessary.

"Hi, Meems. So, where are you coming from?" Miyako asked curiously, noticing that Mimi had changed out of her waitressing uniform into a pair of skinny jeans and a ruffled pink top.

"The mall. I felt like shopping," Mimi explained as she grinned and held up some of her bags. After leaving the apartment when Sora had come home, Mimi realized that she didn't have anywhere to go. So, she decided to catch a cab to the mall, buy new clothes so she could change out of her uniform, and use shopping therapy as a way to relieve some stress.

Mimi smiled at both of the younger girls before walking towards her room. Butterflies flapped in her stomach as she opened the door, hesitantly peeking her head in. When an empty room graced her, she quickly walked in and shut the door, sighing in relief again. The moments when Sora was actually in their room, sitting on her bed, were the most awkward. Mimi looked around, however, and noticed that some of Sora's drawers were open and empty, and her closet was messy and fully open as well. Did Sora pack her things and leave? A sinking feeling in her chest made Mimi sick to the stomach. Had she pushed Sora over the edge, and forced her to move out?

Mimi cleared her throat and put her bags on her bed before walking back out into the living room. She tried to repress the guilty feeling in her chest, and mask it with a more angry feeling.

"So, did Sora decide to move out or something?" Mimi asked with the roll of her eyes as she walked up to Hikari. The younger girls knew that Mimi was curious as to where Sora was, and didn't mean for the hurtful tone in her voice.

"No, Sora's staying at Noriko's tonight," Hikari answered with a sigh, looking back down at the school papers she had to grade instead of Mimi's jeering face.

"So, she's finally giving up on me, huh?" Mimi spat with a dry chuckle which instantly brought Miyako and Hikari's attention to their elder roommate.

Miyako sighed from the dining table, "Mimi…," she whispered while giving the cinnamon haired woman a scolding look.

Hikari was not one to let her temper get the best of her, but even though Sora was at fault for keeping her relationship with Taichi a secret from Mimi, that did not give Mimi the permission to act so immaturely.

"Her parents' are filing for divorce, Mimi, that's why she's not here right now. She's going back home in the morning," Hikari paused to shake her head disappointedly, "You know what's sad about all of this? Sora shouldn't have to go all the way to Noriko's apartment for comfort, but I understand where she's coming from. I mean, how could she stay here when she feels like she can't even confide in her best friends?"

Mimi was completely caught off guard, and she stared at Hikari with wide, shocked eyes. She had absolutely no idea what to say and stumbled with the words coming out of her mouth.

"I agree with Hikari, Mimi," Miyako added in, "I know you feel betrayed by her, but she didn't do anything with the intent to hurt you. What you're doing to her now isn't fair…no one deserves to feel alone when they're going through what Sora is right now. She needs you now more than ever."

Mimi looked between her two roommates and then at the floor. The guilty feeling flooded her chest with more intensity than before, and she couldn't help but let tears fill her hazel eyes. Within a few seconds, Mimi covered her face with her hands and started crying softly.

"I'm the worst friend ever," she sobbed into her hands. Hikari and Miyako instantly got up and walked over to their roommate, embracing her tightly. Hikari led all three of them over to the couch and, when they all sat down, she pulled Mimi's hands from her face and pushed some cinnamon hair behind Mimi's ears.

"I don't think either of you have been good friends to each other lately, Mimi, it's not just your fault. You both have a lot of mending to do, but you can't fix anything if you're ignoring Sora," Hikari explained wisely. Miyako smiled at Hikari before wiping a tear from Mimi's face.

"Yeah, you both have hurt each other enough now, and you both try to act like everything's fine, but everything is obviously _not_ fine."

"What do I do?" Mimi sniffled, wiping her eyes, "I don't want to treat Sora this way anymore, either, but a part of me is still so angry. She made such a fool out of me with all the lies and secrets."

"That'll take time to heal, Meems. Obviously it's going to take time for you to trust her again, but do you really want to throw away your whole relationship with Sora over one guy?" Miyako asked.

Hikari nodded, "I love my brother, but sometimes he can be an idiot. And, I know you liked him a lot, Mimi, but doesn't your relationship with Sora matter more to you than your feelings for Tai?"

Mimi took both of their statements in and nodded her head slowly, "You guys are right…"

"Look, Sora's going to be gone for a few days, and probably won't be back till the weekend, but as soon as she comes home, I want you to sit down and talk to her, okay? She's going through a rough time right now, and mending your relationship with her might help her get through everything a bit more easily," Hikari explained. Mimi nodded her head and stared into space as she thought about everything.

Miyako and Hikari glanced at each other before tightly embracing Mimi, again. A few more tears escaped her hazel eyes before she swatted them away and chuckled.

"So, when did you guys become more mature than me and Sora, huh?"

Miyako grinned, "What are you talking about, we've always been more mature than you guys!"

"Yeah, right," Mimi retorted with a small shove in Miyako's direction. Hikari joined in their small laughter, and Mimi couldn't help but feel as a huge weight was slowly being lifted off of her shoulders.

Maybe things would finally start to get better.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Don't kill me! Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but I hope this longgg chapter makes up for it :) A lot is going on so I hope you all are entertained! Leave a review!

* * *

Akina Arai hadn't changed one bit. Absolutely everything about her was exactly the same. It was hard for Iori not to stare, but he desperately forced himself to glance at the floor. He couldn't do this right now. He couldn't even believe he was even in this situation.

"I never thought I'd be here right now," she spoke softly, matching Iori's own thoughts. He glanced at her as she gazed into space with her piercing cerulean eyes. He could tell she was thinking deeply about everything.

"Tell me about it…"

Akina snapped her head in Iori's direction, her chocolate brown bangs covering her left eye wispily. There was a strange look in her eyes; a look that Iori could feel on him even as he stared at the ground. She quickly pulled her gaze away from his dejected figure and straightened herself out on the exam bed.

When Iori agreed to accompany Akina to the doctor's for a paternity test, he completely knew what he was getting himself into. But, no matter how much he detested her, and no matter how much he wanted to cut Akina out of his life, he just couldn't be that man. He refused to abandon a woman when she potentially carried his child.

He had to hold back the nausea pressing against his throat as he thought about being a father. There was no way he was ready to be a father, he couldn't even think about having a child before graduating law school and being a husband.

"What are we going to do, Iori?"

Iori's green eyes clashed with her bright blue ones as they made contact.

"We'll figure it out as we go along."

"But what if the child _is_ yours—"

"I said we'll figure it out when we have to, Akina," Iori interrupted sternly. She quickly shut her mouth and clasped her hands tightly over her blue patient's gown. The silence in the room became thick with tension, and Iori started tapping his foot as he glanced at the door for any signs that the doctor was on her way back.

"Thank you for coming with me…" Akina stated softly, pushing some of her brown hair behind her ears as she patiently waited for a response. Iori sat back in his seat and crossed his arms casually.

"I'm not doing this for you," he replied harshly, which Akina winced accordingly to.

"Then…why are you here?"

His eyes softened, "For the same reason you are. For an answer."

She nodded her head to herself and took in a deep breath, "I'm so sorry, Iori. I know things ended badly between us, but every moment we shared was sincere. I wasn't using you just because Kei wasn't around. I-I loved you, too."

Iori stiffened in his seat and glanced at her beautiful porcelain face.

"Don't say that—"

"No, I mean it. I know I couldn't say it to you that day you confessed your feelings to me in the car, but…"

There was more silence until Iori cleared his throat.

"It doesn't change anything, Akina. You and I would never work."

"How do you know that?"

"Because no matter how you feel about me, you'll always love Kei more, and that's fine. I've learned to accept it and I've moved on," Iori announced adamantly, "And if I'm not the father of this baby, then go back to Kei and we'll never speak to each other again."

Tears clouded her stunning eyes as Akina listened to his words before responding herself.

"And what if the baby isn't Kei's?"

Iori looked away quickly and clenched his jaw. He didn't want to think about that. He couldn't think about that. As if on cue, the doctor walked into the room and smiled sweetly at the awkward pair.

"Well, Mrs. Arai, we've gotten all we needed for the chorionic villus sampling test, and we should get your results in about ten to fourteen business days."

Akina smiled half-heartedly as the doctor turned to leave the room. A sudden thought came flooding back to Akina, "Um, doctor, could you please call me on my cell phone once the results are in? I know my house number is listed as my main contact, but I'd rather receive the news as soon as possible."

Iori tried not to roll his eyes at her comment. Akina was going to make a phenomenal lawyer one day just because she had an amazing skill at bullshitting. The doctor nodded her head and exited the room, leaving Akina and Iori alone once again. He noticed that she had to change out of her gown so he quickly used that as an opportunity to leave.

"Let me know when you get the results," Iori stated before standing up and heading towards the door.

"Iori…"

He stopped in his tracks at her clear voice, but didn't turn around to look at her.

"Thank you."

He could hear her voice choking up , but he walked out of the room to escape the urge to take her into his arms. It took so much energy to hate her, but he knew he had to. She wasn't good for him. Hell, she wasn't good for anybody.

Iori walked out of the doctor's office and pulled his jacket closer to his body. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Jyou, I can't believe you're going to do this to me."

"Stop being dramatic, Daisuke. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm busy?"

"It's a Saturday, and I know for a fact you don't have a shift at the hospital today."

Jyou looked up incredulously at the younger boy, who was standing in front of him with his hands crossed. Jyou shifted uncomfortably on the couch as he forced himself to look back down at the newspaper he was reading, "How do you know?"

"I called the hospital and asked, duh," Daisuke explained with a roll of his eyes, "Dude, it's my parent's 30th anniversary party, and you have to come!"

"I'm sorry Daisuke, you shouldn't have waited until the last minute to tell us about it."

"Well, everyone else is coming, so that's not an excuse! Man, even _Takeru_ agreed to go, and he practically hates me right now," Daisuke stated with a proud smirk, as if the content of his statement was a good rebuttal.

This made Jyou scoff, "Takeru's only going because he probably heard Hikari's going to be there, so technically, your argument isn't that compelling," he stated with a smile. Jyou watched as the realization of his words hit Daisuke in the face, and the young man's eyes flashed with hint of sadness. But, just as quickly as the emotion appeared, it left and all Jyou was left with was a glare.

"This is about Jun, isn't it?"

Jyou stiffened in his seat and quickly looked back down at his paper. Daisuke smiled smugly again.

"I knew it! So, what did she do this time, huh?"

Jyou quirked a brow, "What do you mean, 'this time'?"

"Did she break up with you? Or is she leaving to go on 'vacation'? Usually, those are the two reasons anyone gets mad at her for," Daisuke explained with a sigh. Jyou solemnly looked down at his lap and shrugged his shoulders.

"She's leaving for America in two weeks."

Daisuke's eyes softened as he watched Jyou's stiff figure sink into the couch. He immediately went to sit next to his older friend and fell back on the couch.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Daisuke mentioned with a smile. Jyou glanced at him through the corner of his eye and shook his head slowly, which made Daisuke continue, "I know you feel like this is the worst thing ever, but you'll get over it. Jun's spell only lasts for a little while trust me. All her other ex's have moved on with no problem."

"She said that it's different with me, Daisuke. I just…I'm the one who broke it off."

Daisuke remained silent for a bit to give Jyou a little time to think. He genuinely felt bad for the soon-to-be doctor, but had no idea how to make him feel better. If Jun was good at anything in life, she was good at breaking hearts, and Daisuke hated that she had to do this to one of his good friends.

"I really don't want to see her, Daisuke," he paused to clench his jaw, "I have better things to do than to worry about her."

Daisuke nodded his head with a sigh and got up to leave. He knew this was a lost cause. Before exiting the room, however, Daisuke turned and gave Jyou a hard look.

"It's up to you, Jyou, but you can either sit here tonight and mope about Jun all by yourself, or you can come to my parents' anniversary party and get some closure."

With that, Daisuke left Jyou to contemplate his thoughts. Jyou closed his eyes and thought about Jun. He recollected everything he knew about her: her face, her smell, her body, her laugh. He had been avoiding her for two weeks…but maybe Daisuke was right. Maybe it was time to get closure.

* * *

Mimi glanced proudly at herself in the mirror as she got ready for Daisuke's parents' anniversary party. She turned around to look at Sora's bed out of habit, and a quick sadness drowned over her as she was greeted to an empty, neatly done bed. Sora always gave her a second opinion while they were getting ready…it was odd not having her there to watch Mimi as she got dolled up.

Mimi gazed at herself in the mirror with a desolate expression. She had curled her hair and pinned all of it to one side so it draped over her shoulder gracefully, and wore a one-shouldered light pink dress. Even though she looked beautiful, she couldn't help but feel ugly. About a week had gone by, and she hadn't seen Sora at all. The more she thought about how immature she had acted towards her best friend, the more she started to get angry with herself.

Maybe it was Sora's fault this all had happened, but Mimi did not want to be the reason their friendship ended. And yes, Mimi had harbored some strong feelings for Taichi, but he was not going to be the reason for ruining her friendship with Sora. Mimi knew she had to be the bigger person here. In actuality, it must have been terribly hard for Sora to tell Mimi the truth, but at _least_ she did.

Sora deserved someone like Taichi. After everything that had happened with Yamato, she deserved to be happy. Mimi was not going to be the reason Sora's happiness suffered. She refused to be selfish.

Mimi shut her eyes tightly and let out a deep breath. That was the old Mimi. The old Mimi was a selfish, unforgiving brat…she wasn't that person anymore, and she refused to be that person again.

A knock on the door pulled Mimi from her thoughts, and she turned when she noticed Miyako walking through the door to her room. Miyako grinned at Mimi happily, wearing a form fitting black gown with her hair lavender tucked beautifully into a bun.

"Wow, Mimi, you look amazing!"

Mimi smiled thankfully to Miyako and also complimented her outfit, which earned Mimi a giddy squeal from her younger roommate.

"I can't believe that tonight will be our five month anniversary," she stated with an even wider grin. Mimi beamed at Miyako and went up to crush her in an embrace.

"It feels like yesterday when you were obsessively waiting for Ken to call," Mimi explained with a sweet smile. Miyako grinned again and sighed contently.

"I love him so much," she spoke softly.

Mimi held her hand tightly, "I know, and I'm so happy for both of you."

After a few more squealed giggles, Miyako calmed herself and took a deep breath.

"So," she breathed, "Is Sora meeting us at the hall?" Miyako queried.

"Yeah, I texted her a couple hours ago, and she said that she was running late and would meet us there."

Miyako noticed the guilty look in Mimi's hazel eyes, "Did she seem okay?"

"I don't know, her text was kind of short. What if I've ruined our friendship for good?" Mimi asked with a pouted lip. Miyako shook her head profusely.

"Stop it, Mimi, you haven't ruined anything! Everything will be okay once you talk to her."

"What if it's not okay?"

"Stop being so pessimistic!"

Mimi stopped whining at Miyako's words, and after a few seconds she busted out into giggles. Miyako raised a curious brow and crossed her arms.

"What is so funny?"

"Nothing," Mimi paused to chuckle a little more, "I just find it ironic that _you're_ the one telling me to stop being pessimistic."

Miyako scoffed playfully and shoved Mimi softly, "That's not funny!"

"What's going on in here?"

Both girls turned at the sound of Hikari's voice coming from the entrance to Mimi's room, and they both simultaneously dropped their jaws. Hikari was always considered a very conservative girl, but the outfit she had on was anything but that.

She was wearing a red dress with a conservative V-neck, which clung to her small frame beautifully. Her hair was completely straight and down, accentuating her flawless face. Even though Hikari was naturally beautiful, both girls knew that she was trying to make a statement today.

"Oh my god, Hikari! Takeru's going to die when he sees you!" Miyako exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. Hikari blushed at her statement and self-consciously looked down at her dress.

"It's not too much, is it?"

"Are you kidding?" Mimi grinned, "If you're trying to get someone's attention, then don't worry, all eyes will be on you tonight."

Hikari's stomach churned involuntarily and she quickly forced a smile. Oh, she was trying to get someone's attention, alright, but she felt completely guilty about it. She remembered that Daisuke's favorite color on women was red. Hikari hoped she wasn't making it blatantly obvious that she wanted him to notice her tonight.

As all three girls put on their last touches of makeup, everyone else soon started bustling into their apartment before leaving for the party. Ken was the first to show up, and Miyako threw herself on him the minute he walked through the door. She planted a passionate kiss on his lips and it threw Ken off guard. He chuckled and raised a brow as they pulled away.

"What was that for?" he asked with a smile before closing the door.

"Just a little preview of what our five month anniversary will entail," she explained with a wink, which made the detective blush a little as she continued to speak.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice. Daisuke told us, like, two days ago about his parents' anniversary party, and he wouldn't leave us alone until we agreed to go," Miyako elaborated with the roll of her eyes. Ken chuckled and waved it off.

"It's not a big deal. It's not like you weren't going to be hanging out with me tonight, anyway," he explained with a wink, which looked very similar to hers. Miyako allowed herself to blush.

Taichi, Koushiro, and Keiko were next to enter the apartment. All three girls welcomed Keiko warmly to make her feel more comfortable, and Koushiro smiled happily as he watched Keiko interact with his friends. He was glad to see her assimilating well into their group.

Taichi, being his usual loud and obnoxious self, made a comment on Hikari's attire. He asked her to change out of her provocative dress immediately, even though the dress wasn't provocative at all. After a few scolding remarks from Hikari and Miyako, Taichi decided to shut his mouth and mind his own business. He knew Hikari wouldn't dress that way unless there was a specific reason, and he was honestly worried about his sister. He decided he'd keep an eye on her tonight.

Taichi sighed and looked over the room until his eyes fell on Mimi. She was conversing happily with Keiko until he caught her eye and waved. Mimi politely excused herself and made her way over to Taichi with a sincere smile.

"You're looking quite sharp tonight, Taichi," she explained with a nervous smile, trying hard not to blush. Taichi chuckled at her behavior and bobbed his brows.

"Not looking so bad yourself, Meems."

Taichi had talked to Mimi a few days ago over some coffee. He had apologized for hurting her, and making it seem like he had been using her. In all honesty, Mimi found it incredibly easy to forgive Taichi, and she hated herself for that. To this very minute, Mimi was hesitant about seeing Sora, but she had no problem forgiving Taichi…and she knew exactly why that was. Her heart was still pounding at his rugged handsomeness.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Taichi's clear voice brought Mimi out of her thoughts, and she quickly forced herself to smile.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking…"

Taichi pursed his lips before speaking, "About Sora?"

A sinking feeling enveloped her stomach.

"Yeah…"

Taichi nodded his head and clenched his jaw tightly, "Is she coming tonight?" He asked, looking Mimi straight in the eye.

Mimi raised a brow quizzically, "Yes, she is. You didn't know?"

Taichi glanced down solemnly and Mimi watched his face as it tried to hide his anger. Guilt flooded Mimi's chest and she desperately wanted to be held in Taichi's arms. She couldn't help but feel that this was her fault. If she hadn't been so terrible to Sora then Sora wouldn't be ignoring Taichi the way she is now.

"I'm sorry, Tai."

The brunette looked up into Mimi's eyes and smiled half-heartedly.

"Don't be."

Mimi realized how funny the situation was. Both Taichi and Mimi were convinced that they were single-handedly at fault for this whole predicament, and Sora probably felt the same way, as well. Maybe if they could all release the guilt inside of themselves, then everything would be resolved.

"So, when did she tell you she was coming?" Taichi asked as he cleared his throat, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"She's meeting us at the banquet hall. She responded to my text a few hours ago."

Taichi chuckled dryly, "Well, this is going to be an interesting night, isn't it?"

Mimi sighed and shook her head dejectedly.

"Tell me about it."

* * *

Jyou, Takeru, Iori, and Noriko were last to enter the girls' apartment, and as soon as they arrived, everyone started making motions to leave. Iori invited Noriko to the party as his date, and the rest of the girls quickly welcomed her warmly.

Takeru hadn't failed to notice how gorgeous Hikari looked. He watched her talk to Noriko and sighed. This was going to be a long, hard night. Hikari must have felt him staring because she turned to look right at him. Takeru instantly blushed and tried to recover with a wave. His heart pumped as Hikari smiled back at him.

"This is going to be a long night, isn't it?" Jyou stated with a frown from beside Takeru. The blond glanced at him and sighed.

"You've read my thoughts exactly."

Everyone made their way down the stairs and out of the apartment complex. Daisuke was already at the banquet hall helping his sister and parents prepare for the party, but his parents kindly ordered a limo to pick up Daisuke's friends from their home. As the very long limo pulled up to the front entrance of the complex, a few people were practically gaping at its fanciness.

"I still don't understand why Daisuke never wanted to take over his father's ramen business. He'd be freaking loaded if he did," Taichi stated to Mimi, who was standing right beside him. Mimi chuckled at his comment and shoved him playfully.

Everyone pushed their way into the limo while carefully deciding where to sit. Hikari made sure she was far away from Takeru, Mimi stuck by Taichi's side even though she knew she shouldn't, Iori uncomfortably sat next to Noriko as he thought about Akina, and Miyako gladly offered to sit on Ken's lap, even though it wasn't necessary. Everyone else seemed to fill in the gaps without any discussion.

The ride to the banquet hall was only twenty minutes, and they flew by as everyone enjoyed their ride in the limo. Once the driver pulled up to the hall, all the bodies bustled out and made their way into the building. The hall was absolutely beautiful and way too grand for an anniversary party, but this was expected; Daisuke's parents were filthy rich.

There was a crowd hovered around Mr. and Mrs. Motomiya, and after the whole gang congratulated the couple on a long and healthy marriage, everyone figured out where they were sitting and situated themselves at their appropriate tables. Mimi smiled to herself as Taichi sat down next to her. She knew that all these feelings needed to subside, but she couldn't help but let butterflies flap around every time he accidently bumped into her.

The bar and appetizers were open, so everyone in the hall got up and mingled with the people around them. Taichi glanced at Mimi and smiled slyly.

"So…are you trying to eat or are you trying to drink?"

Mimi glanced back at him and smirked, "You know what my I answer would be, but I think we should be respectful and _try _not get drunk at Daisuke's parents' 30th anniversary celebration," Mimi explained with a laugh.

Taichi glowered, "Yeah, yeah, you're right."

They both stood up and walked over to wait in line for appetizers. Mimi watched him as he stood in front of her, gazing around the room. He looked so deep in thought and so concentrated, Mimi didn't want to disturb him. At first, she couldn't realize what he was doing, but then it hit her. Taichi was looking around to see if Sora had arrived.

Her heart fell as he glanced at the entrance door for a few seconds. She immediately felt like such an idiot for feeling so attached to him. What was the point? He was obviously in love with Sora. No matter what she did, he would never be hers.

"Y-You know what?" Mimi stuttered to catch Taichi's attention, "I think I'm gonna get a drink. You want anything?"

Taichi raised a brow, "Yeah sure, but why the sudden change of heart?"

Mimi held back a chuckle at his ironic comment. She gazed into his soft brown eyes and fought back her tears.

"Because I have to learn to let go…"

"Huh?" he asked bafflingly. Mimi shook her head and cleared her throat.

"Nothing, never mind. So, what drink do you want?"

* * *

Jyou spotted her the instant he walked into the hall. There was no mistaking her. Jun Motomiya looked absolutely incredible. She was never one to get dolled up, but Jyou couldn't deny that he now wished she had dressed up more when they were together. She was stunning.

Jun was mingling with guests, wearing a dark blue, form fitting dress. Her makeup was done elegantly, and somehow here hair even looked tamed and flawless. Jyou was desperately starting to regret his decision in coming to the party.

As if by some force of nature, Jun turned in Jyou's direction, and he could tell that she was just as surprised to see him as he was at himself for even showing up. She immediately grinned and made her way over to him.

"Well, well, Mr. Kido, this is a pleasant surprise," she winked with a usual flirtation. Jyou quickly turned around and tried to walk away, but Jun clutched onto his arm before he could leave.

"Woah, wait, Jyou! What, I don't even get a 'hello' anymore?"

"Well, pardon me _Ms. Motomiya_, I don't do well with ex girlfriends," he spat, pulling his arm away and crossing them at his chest. Jun rolled her eyes.

"Have you even had an ex girlfriend before?"

Jyou glared, and with a scoff he turned around again.

"Wait, Jyou, please—I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she begged, walking in front of him to stop him in his tracks. Jyou pushed up his glasses and glared once again.

"Could you please just get out of my way? This was a mistake, I shouldn't have come—"

"Why are you being like this?" Jun asked seriously. Jyou saw the hurt in her eyes and instantly let his guard down. An urge to take her into his arms was now becoming too overpowering, and Jyou had to take a deep breath to calm himself.

"I'm angry, okay?" he explained through gritted teeth.

"No, it's not okay," Jun stated adamantly, crossing her arms just as defiantly as Jyou.

"And why is that? You're the one shipping off to America in two weeks. I have every right to be angry."

"No, you don't, because being angry with me is much easier than accepting the truth," she scolded, taking a step closer to him while giving Jyou a hard look. Jyou's heart started pounding as he noticed how close her face was to his. He knew that he was blushing.

"What are you going to do when I leave for America, Jyou? Are you going to hate me the whole time I'm gone?"

Jyou glanced away and bit his lip softly, "I don't want to hate you, Jun. But—"

"Then don't."

Jyou chuckled dryly, "Much easier said than done—"

"I love you."

Jyou felt his heart stop as his mouth became completely dry. He stood there for a few seconds in complete shock. Had he heard her correctly? The sensation of Jun holding onto his hand brought him back to reality.

"I love you, Jyou," she repeated with a teary look. Jyou shut his eyes tightly and pulled his hand away from her forcefully.

"No, you can't do that. That's not fair—"

"Wait, Jyou—where are you going!"

Jyou continued to walk away from her and refused to stop. Her pleas started to sound farther away, and he could instantly tell that she wasn't chasing after him. But, no matter how far he walked away from her, his heart still pounded as loudly as it did when she had told him she loved him.

* * *

Takeru had seen some beautiful women in his life, but none were ever as gorgeous and radiant as Hikari Yagami. The more he caught himself searching for her and watching her, the more he realized how much he loved her. Was he an idiot for going on a break? According to everyone else, Hikari had been pining sadly over the past few weeks. Maybe Takeru was wrong…maybe Hikari didn't have any soul-searching to do.

The blond glanced around the banquet hall again in order to find her. She wasn't hard to spot, especially in that sultry red dress, but Takeru was quickly starting to feel like a stalker. What was wrong with him? When had he become so obsessive? This wasn't like him at all.

Takeru's attention quickly averted as Jyou sat down at the table next to Takeru. The navy-haired man was completely shaken, and Takeru instantly became concerned.

"Are you alright, Jyou—"

"Yeah," he interjected quickly, "I'm fine. So, when do we get out of here?"

Takeru gazed at him worriedly, "Not for a while, Jyou. Look, I don't want to be here just as much as you don't, and even though Daisuke and I aren't on the best of terms, we should still be here out of respect. He really wanted us to come—"

"Okay, I get it. God, the faster we get out of here the better."

This shut Takeru's mouth and he quickly understood Jyou's desperation. Takeru took a quick glance at Hikari, who was chatting with a woman they went to college with, and sighed loudly.

Jyou must have noticed that Takeru was watching her because he quickly nudged the younger boy.

"You're being an idiot, you know that?"

Takeru snapped his head in Jyou's direction and looked at him incredulously.

"Wha—"

"The woman I'm in love with is leaving for America in two weeks. She won't be coming back until god-knows-when, and you're sitting here creeping on the woman you're in love with because you're too insecure about your relationship," Jyou iterated with a hard look. Takeru stared at him speechless, soaking in everything that Jyou had spoken.

"Don't do this to yourself, Takeru. We both don't have to be miserable here."

Takeru's stomach churned as he realized the truth behind Jyou's words. He was being a complete idiot. After a few seconds, Takeru placed a thankful hand on Jyou's shoulder before standing up from his seat.

"Thanks, Jyou."

Jyou smiled approvingly to him as Takeru gathered up the courage to walk over to Hikari. He took a deep breath and headed towards the object of his affection. She felt so far even with every step he took, so he swiftly quickened his pace. It wasn't until Daisuke Motomiya entered his field of vision that he stopped dead in his tracks.

Takeru watched as Daisuke grinned and wrapped his arms securely around Hikari's small waist in a friendly embrace. The sight made an anger spark up in Takeru; an anger he never thought he'd be capable of. As they pulled away, he could tell that Daisuke was complimenting Hikari on how she looked, but what surprised Takeru the most was the way Hikari reacted to Daisuke's compliment.

She was blushing, and she instantly praised Daisuke on his suit. As they continued to talk, Takeru watched in dismay as Hikari laughed sweetly at something Daisuke had said, and she grasped onto his arm to steady herself as she chuckled. The way she was looking at Daisuke…Takeru knew that look too well.

Soon, Bianca entered the picture, and quickly forced herself into Hikari and Daisuke's conversation. It wasn't until Takeru noticed Hikari's stout facial expressions that he realized what was going on. Hikari was jealous of Bianca.

He felt like someone had just stabbed him in the heart, and twisted the knife around a couple of times. Takeru was right all along. Hikari hadn't sorted out her feelings, and there _was_ a reason she was so hesitant on moving their relationship forward. That reason was Daisuke.

Takeru turned on his heel before he could watch anymore. If this were any other day or any other event, Takeru would have gladly walked up to Daisuke and punched him perfectly in the face.

Boy, Daisuke was lucky that this was his parents' anniversary party so Takeru wasn't about to make a scene. Instead, he did the only thing he could do to let out some of his frustration.

He headed for the bar.

* * *

Sora took in a deep breath and walked into the banquet hall as boldly as she could. Was she looking forward to this? Not at all. But, she knew that her only hope for mending things with Mimi was at this party.

When Mimi had texted her earlier in the day, Sora couldn't say she wasn't surprised. It seemed a bit random, but it made Sora smile with hope. Was Mimi really ready to talk to her again?

Sora straightened out her black dress as she walked further into the banquet hall. The first people to spot her were Miyako and Hikari, who quickly ran over to greet her. Sora had to hold back a laugh as they both crushed her in an embrace.

"Well, better late than never," Miyako stated with a grin. Sora chuckled at her comment before responding.

"I'm sorry, my train ran late and it took me forever to find the hall."

"We missed you, Sora! You told me you'd be gone for a few days, not the whole week. The least you could've done was given us a call to let us know you were okay," Hikari explained with a concerned look. Sora smiled and embraced the younger girl again.

"I know, I'm sorry. There was a lot going on at home…but I'm back," she stated adamantly with a soft smile. As Sora looked up from her two friends, she instantly stiffened at the sight of Mimi standing a few feet in front of her, behind Hikari and Miyako, waiting patiently with a nervous smile.

Miyako and Hikari glanced at each other knowingly before saying their goodbyes and leaving the two roommates alone. Sora watched them go and nervously tucked some auburn hair behind her ear.

"Wow, you look great, Meems," she complimented shyly. Mimi smiled before letting her eyes fill up with tears. All she wanted to do was embrace her best friend, but she knew it was too soon for that. They had a lot to talk about.

"So…do you wanna talk outside?" Mimi asked hesitantly.

Sora nodded and followed Mimi outside to the lobby of the banquet hall. Neither knew who was going to speak first, so Sora decided to pipe up.

"Mimi, I'm so sorry I kept everything from you. Please, you have to believe me, it was never my intention to hurt you. I was just being selfish because for the first time since Yamato I've felt something for someone that I never thought I could feel again for anyone, and it's so awful because not only is he my best friend, he's also the guy you've been pining for, and—"

"Shh, stop it, Sora," Mimi interrupted as she grasped Sora's hand tightly. Tears had started forming in the auburn haired woman's eyes, and Mimi knew she was spilling everything out because she was scared that Mimi would stop listening to her.

"You know," Mimi paused to chuckle softly, "I've been thinking all week about this. I had no idea how I was going to forgive you until I realized that this situation isn't entirely your fault. _I'm_ sorry, Sora. Yes, I had a very good reason to be angry with you, but I have no excuse for treating you the way I did."

Sora glanced at the floor as Mimi made both of them sit down on a sofa in the lobby.

"You have nothing to apologize for—"

"Stop blaming yourself for this whole mess, Sora. I should have been more mature, but instead I treated you terribly," Mimi explained with a sullen smile. Sora shook her head as she sat back on the soft cushions of the couch. She straightened out the fabric of her dress before chuckling.

"Being at home with my mother made me realize how important certain relationships are. I don't want to lose our friendship over Taichi, Mimi," Sora paused to look back in Mimi's direction, "No matter what, I know he'll always be my friend. But…I can't lose you."

Mimi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"You'll never lose me, Sora. Do you really think I'd let a stupid boy get in between us forever? What, are we in high school?" She asked with a cheeky grin. It made Sora laugh.

"And don't do that, Sora."

Sora raised a brow at Mimi's statement and the beautiful brunette sighed desolately.

"Don't end things with Taichi because of me…he cares about you so much and I know he hates that you're ignoring him."

Sora's gaze shifted to her hands, and she slowly started fidgeting with her dress.

"But, I-I feel so guilty…"

"Don't," Mimi asserted with a hard look, "You see, even at this very moment I am still absurdly jealous that Taichi loves you…but who am I to get in the way of two people who care so much about each other? Especially because you two have been close friends for much longer than I've even known Taichi."

Sora remained silent and bit her lip. She wanted to be with Taichi so badly, but she couldn't help but feel like a terrible person. Even though Mimi was basically giving her permission to go ahead, she knew that it would still hurt her roommate to see them together.

"Look, the only way you'll feel less guilty about being with him is to _actually_ be with him. You'll forget your guilt…and soon enough, I'll learn to get over my jealousy."

"But you shouldn't _have_ to learn to get over it, Mimi."

"Well, what else do you want me to do? That man has been waiting all night for you to get here, and anything I've said or done wasn't enough to change his behavior. This isn't a competition, Sora…he wants to be with _you_, and I'll get over it."

Sora clenched her jaw, "You make it sound so awful."

This made Mimi sigh and latch onto Sora's small hands.

"I'm being honest with you, okay?" Sora didn't respond so Mimi nudged her to face her direction, "I forgave you. Now, it's time to forgive yourself. Do you love him?"

Sora glanced in both of Mimi's eyes before pursing her lips tightly. Mimi knew what that meant. She smiled at her best friend and squeezed her hands comfortingly.

"Then stop holding yourself back. Like I said, he's just a stupid boy. There are plenty more where he came from, so don't worry about me. As long as you promise not to lie to me again, or keep secrets from me, then you're completely forgiven," Mimi explained with a soft smile. Sora tried to press back her tears before crushing the woman in front of her into a tight embrace.

They both stayed like that for a while, and even though Sora knew that everything wasn't completely fixed, she knew that it was a start.

* * *

Hikari couldn't deny the thump of her pounding heart as watched Daisuke mingle with his guests. She'd rarely seen him dressed up in a suit, and she couldn't get herself to peel her eyes away. The young teacher let out a slow breath as she walked towards him. She had no idea what she was going to say, she just wanted to talk to him again. Hikari had absolutely no idea how or when Daisuke started to fill her thoughts, but all she knew was that she wanted to see his bright smile and feel his cheerful spirit.

"Oh hey, Hikari!"

Hikari stopped in her tracks as a chirpy voice called out her name. She tried not to cringe at the familiarity of that voice and turned to smile as genuinely as she could.

"Hi, Bianca."

The raven-haired woman offered a snarky smile before looking Hikari up and down. She was wearing a gold-sequin dress with bright red heels. Of course she'd be wearing something that looked pulled out of a fashion magazine. Hikari suddenly felt insecure.

"Oh, I borrowed this dress from Hitomi. It's designer," she stated slyly as she ran some fingers through her long hair. Hikari blushed and quickly glanced back up at Bianca's face.

"So…how have you been?" Hikari asked awkwardly with a smile, shifting her weight to her other foot. Bianca's face suddenly became very stern and she lifted her drink to take a sip before speaking.

"I've been good. So, what's going on with you and Daisuke?"

Hikari stiffened and cleared her throat, "Um, what do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Bianca stated with a hard look.

Hikari scrunched her brows in confusion as she responded.

"Daisuke's one of my good friends—"

"Is that why you've been staring at him all night?"

This caught Hikari off guard and she stammered. Her mind raced as she forced herself to think of something smart to say. Bianca raised a brow as she waited, and smiled slyly when Hikari looked baffled.

"You _do_ know that I'm dating Daisuke, right? So, think twice next time before you go batting your eyelashes at him and clinging onto his arm."

Hikari glared, "I've known him much longer than you. You don't even know Daisuke."

The statement caused Bianca to smirk.

"Honey, I know him a lot better than you think I do," she stated with a suggestive wink. It made Hikari want to throw up. How was Daisuke even dating this girl? She was absolutely vile.

"W-Well, before you start accusing me of things, maybe you should remember that I'm also seeing someone," Hikari lied, trying to defend herself as best as she could. Bianca took another sip of her drink before laughing out loud at Hikari's comment.

"Who, Takeru? I'm pretty sure you two are over, sweetie, because he's been flirting with that blonde chick over by the bar for most of the night."

Hikari looked at her incredulously before snapping her head in the direction of the bar. Just as Bianca had said, Takeru was sitting at the bar next to a sultry blonde woman, who was laughing at one of his jokes and ruffling his hair teasingly. A flame suddenly ignited in Hikari, and she was surprised at how intensely it burned. Bianca noticed the hurt and angry look on Hikari's perfect face and smiled before flipping her hair.

"Oh, you didn't notice? He's been drinking and flirting with a lot of girls, but he's been with _that_ girl for almost an hour now," she explained with a chirpy voice. Hikari wasn't even paying attention to Bianca. She was watching Takeru order another drink as he nudged the blonde girl teasingly.

"Hey, Bianca…long time no see," a voice added in monotonously. Hikari glanced at Miyako as she approached them before looking back at Takeru. Her heart pounded as Takeru tucked some blonde hair behind the woman's ear.

"Miyako! Oh my god, it's been too long, hasn't it? How have you been?" Bianca asked with her usual perky demeanor. Miyako faked a big smile before responding appropriately.

"Oh my god, _yes_, it's been _so_ _long!_" she squealed, causing Hikari to turn back to Miyako and stare at her peculiarly, "So, _what_ have you two been gossiping about over here, huh?"

Bianca noticed the fakeness of Miyako's exuberance and quickly rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you ask Hikari? I really should go. I have a lot of mingling to do, anyway. You know, since I'm Daisuke's girlfriend I want to make a good impression," she stated promptly before giving Hikari one last smirk and walking away.

As Bianca swayed her hips away towards other people, Miyako stuck out her tongue in disgust and faced Hikari.

"I absolutely despise that girl. I never thought I'd meet someone more peppy than I am."

Miyako raised a brow when Hikari remained silent and gazed at something in the distance. Miyako followed Hikari's line of vision, and realization finally hit her as she saw what Hikari was intently watching.

"Hikari, let's go get something to eat—"

"I can't believe him…" Hikari interrupted Miyako's attempts to distract her as she watched Takeru sadly. Then, Miyako pulled her away and turned Hikari so she wasn't watching the scene at the bar anymore.

"It's probably nothing. You know Takeru, he's not the kind of guy…"

"Yeah, well maybe he's not the guy I thought he was."

Miyako's eyes softened sympathetically, "Hikari—"

"No," Hikari interjected, "Two can play at this game. Come on, Miyako, let's go get a drink."

* * *

"So, do you want to eat?"

"No, not really."

"…How about a dance? The band just started playing—"

"Sorry, I'm not really in the mood to dance…"

Noriko glared at her date before crossing her arms defiantly, "Then why did you even ask me to come as your date, Iori?"

The law student quickly turned his head in Noriko's direction and offered an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry—"

"You've been apologizing all night," Noriko stated exasperatedly, throwing her napkin on the table and getting up from her chair. Iori watched her incredulously before grabbing her arm.

"Please, stop. Where are you going?"

"Home, Iori. Obviously, you don't want me here. Not only have you been acting weird all week, you've been completely inconsiderate. Like I said before, if you don't want to be honest with me, then stop calling me," she explained harshly before trying to leave again. Iori didn't let go of her arm.

"Okay…okay, I'll explain everything," he offered with a pleading look in his eyes. Noriko looked at him cautiously before sitting back down and crossing her arms.

"I haven't told you because I'm scared of what you'll think of me."

Noriko rolled her eyes, "Try me."

Iori sighed, "You remember that girl that approached us on our first date? The one you thought was crazy?"

"…Yeah."

"Well…she's kind of my ex-girlfriend."

Noriko raised a brow, "O-Okay…" she stuttered as she waited for him to continue.

Iori bit his lip, "And she called me other day to tell me that she's pregnant."

Noriko raised both her brows and stammered for a little bit. When she finally thought of something to say, she cleared her throat and proceeded.

"S-So, you're going to be a father?"

Iori could feel himself sweating, so he quickly shifted positions in his chair and loosened his tie.

"Well…I don't know for sure. The baby might not be mine. You see—…she's kind of…"

"Yes?" Noriko pressed, urging Iori to continue. He took in a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly under the table.

"She's married. She was married when I dated her…"

Iori watched as the color drained from Noriko's face and he waited for her to speak up and say something. Noriko opened her mouth to being a sentence, but quickly shut it. She was speechless.

"Look, I know you think I'm a pig, or a home-wrecker, or anything along else those lines, but I did love her and she just happened to be married—"

"Do you still love her?"

Iori stiffened at her question and quickly shook his head.

"What?"

"You heard me, Iori."

He gaped, "N-No, Noriko, I don't—"

"You don't sound so sure," she interjected, looking at him sadly. Iori glanced at her in bewilderment. He thought she'd be hung up over the fact that he dated a married woman, but she was more upset about his old feelings. He didn't understand.

"Okay, I'm going to leave, Iori. And please…don't call me."

With that, he watched her stand up and make her way towards the exit. He had no idea what to do or what to say. She had left him completely baffled.

* * *

Taichi had grown oddly used to Sora ignoring him. Sure, when she had walked into the banquet hall, he'd taken notice immediately, but ever since she returned from her talk with Mimi, he found himself waiting for her to approach him anxiously.

He waited, and waited, and waited…and after a while he knew that she wasn't going to do anything so he decided to get a drink and go mingle with some of his old college buddies.

It wasn't until he was on his way to the bar again that she grabbed his arm and caused him to turn to look at her. At first he was surprised, and then he glared at her angrily before turning back around and walking away.

"Taichi, wait!"

He sighed and turned back to face her, "So, you've finally come to say hello, huh?"

Sora smiled at his comment, "Wow, I've missed you."

Taichi rolled his eyes and shook his head profusely.

"You don't get to say that."

"What, I'm not allowed to miss you?" she asked with a smirk as she crossed her arms at her chest. Taichi glared again before heading towards the bar. He heard Sora sigh and follow him until he reached his destination. As he ordered another drink, Sora stood next to him and waited patiently for him to say something. She knew he would.

"You know, you could've answered at least _one_ of my calls. I was worried sick."

He could see Sora shooting him an apologetic look from the corner of his eye. It made him even angrier.

"I didn't want you to be involved, Tai."

"I wasn't trying to get involved. I wanted to make sure you were okay, that's all."

"I know," Sora stated as she glanced at the bar table in front of her, "I'm sorry."

Once Taichi got his drink, he sat down on one of the stools and sighed. No matter how crazy Sora drove him, he just couldn't pull himself away from her. He was never able to, not even back in high school. Sora took a seat, as well, and tucked some auburn hair behind her ear.

"So, how are your parents?" he asked curiously, taking a gulp of his drink. Sora winced.

"Definitely getting a divorce," she spat before ordering a drink of her own. Taichi watched her and remained silent, "I thought I could stop them, you know? Talk them into rediscovering their love for each other…but I couldn't."

Taichi nodded his head and took another gulp.

"He cheated on her, you know that? He's been cheating on her for years. My mom told me that she'd always suspected it, but never truly believed it…not until he came home and told her the truth. He'd wanted a divorce for a long time now. He wants to marry his mistress," Sora spat again before accepting her drink and taking a big gulp of it. Taichi noticed the tears welling up in her eyes as she placed her cup down. He had a sudden urge to take her into his arms.

"It's gonna be alright, Sor—"

"How is it going to be alright? My mother is broken down; she's all alone now. As for me, I can't even stand to look at my father. He tried to talk to me, but I just couldn't be near him without wanting to scream at him," Sora paused to take another gulp, "You know, as a little kid, I despised my mom and absolutely loved my dad. But no matter what, we were a happy family. The three of us. I just can't imagine it any other way…"

Taichi glanced at her before snatching her drink away from her.

"Hey!" she scoffed as he placed the drink far away from her. She looked at him incredulously and was only offered a goofy smile in return.

"I will not let you turn into me," he stated with a chuckle. Sora remembered how much she scolded Taichi for drinking whenever he was upset or had a problem. She smiled at his sincere gesture.

"I'm sorry for venting to you, Taichi…I know I don't deserve your attention after this past week."

"Yeah, you don't."

Sora shut her mouth and gazed at her hands as she fidgeted with her dress. Taichi looked at her and tried to hold in a smile as he continued to speak.

"So, why were you ignoring me all week, huh?"

Sora pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders. Taichi sighed in annoyance.

"Wow, great answer," he remarked sarcastically.

Sora turned to glance at him with a solemn look, "I felt guilty…after the whole 'Mimi situation'," she explained. Taichi sighed.

"Well, it's nice to know that it doesn't take much to make you completely ignore me," he stated grumpily as he hypocritically took a sip of his drink. Sora turned to look at him and glared.

"Mimi's my best friend, Tai."

"Well maybe you should've considered that before you slept with me. And besides, I thought I was your best friend, too."

Sora gawked at him before shaking her head angrily.

"I _love_ you, Tai. I stayed together with you because I love you."

"Well, you sure have a weird way of showing it."

Sora glared and forcefully got up from her stool. Taichi quickly realized what a jerk he was being and grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Let go," she ordered, but Taichi didn't

"I'm sorry…"

Sora's glare softened as she noticed the upset look in his eyes. She slowly sat back down and pulled her hand away.

"It's just…I feel like we rushed _everything_, and when you started pulling away from me and ignoring me, I felt like everything we were doing was wrong. I mean, I've never really been in a committed relationship before, but I sure as hell know that ours isn't going in the right direction…"

He noticed the pain in Sora's eyes and quickly glanced at the bar table.

"You're right," she agreed softly. Taichi sighed and ran a few fingers through his hair.

"But," Sora started, "It's never too late to start over," she offered with a smile. Taichi looked at her mockingly and Sora laughed in return.

"I'm serious! I mean, we don't have to be that mushy gushy couple that goes off on dates all the time, and publically displays their affection," Sora laughed when she saw Taichi's face twist in disgust at the sound of that, "But, we can start taking things slower. And, hey, if we're gonna blame anyone on this relationship going too fast, we're blaming _you_. You're the one who told me you loved me after one month of being together."

Taichi glared playfully, "You weren't supposed to hear that! You think I wanted you to know that early on? Man, I even creeped myself out. Besides, _you're_ the one who practically attacked me the night of Yamato's wedding. So if we have to blame anyone on this relationship starting too quickly, we should blame you."

Sora grinned, "Call it a truce?"

Taichi playfully thought about it and then grinned cheekily.

"You got yourself a deal, Takenouchi."

* * *

"Kari…Maybe you should slow yourself down," Miyako cautioned as Hikari gulped down the rest of her drink. Hikari wasn't keeping track of how many she'd had, but she was definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol.

"I'm fine, Miyako, don't worry!" Hikari explained with a big smile that actually made Miyako worry. Hikari wasn't a big drinker. Unlike her brother, she stayed away from alcohol most of the time, so Miyako was scared for what Hikari might do the rest of the evening.

Hikari turned to look around the banquet hall until she spotted who she was looking for. Takeru had moved on to some new brunette girl who was touching his arm seductively. The alcohol made Hikari even angrier.

"God, the nerve of him…" she mumbled under her breath, ready to order another drink before Miyako stopped her.

"Hikari, please, just stop drinking. It's not going to solve anything."

Hikari turned to look at her roommate, but the world was starting to spin a little.

"You know what, you're right, Miyako. Sitting here isn't going to solve anything," she explained. Miyako sighed at Hikari's inability to understand her point, "If he thinks it's okay to flirt around, then I'm going to do the same."

Miyako perked up at this and shook her head, "I don't think that's a good idea—"

"Why not?"

"Because it's immature, Hikari. That isn't like you…"

Hikari glared, "Maybe I'm tired of being that girl. I don't want to be timid, or understanding, or boring anymore. I want to be passionate…I want to be reckless," Hikari stated adamantly.

Miyako gazed at her worriedly

"Where is this coming from, Hikari?"

A blush quickly crawled onto Hikari's face as she thought about Daisuke, and she shook her head to rid the thought. She ignored Miyako's remark and brought her attention back to Takeru. The brunette woman was whispering something in Takeru's ear and it made him blush profusely. Another spark of anger ignited in Hikari.

She tried to calm herself down until she saw the brunette woman lean in for a kiss. Hikari wasn't sure what went through her mind, but she quickly got up from her stool and stomped over to Takeru and the brunette. She could hear Miyako chasing after her wildly, but Hikari kept up her pace.

Once she made it to the two of them, she quickly grabbed Takeru's arm and pulled him up roughly. The blond man was surprised for a second when he saw Hikari's furious brown eyes.

"What the heck are you doing?" she asked angrily, looking at the brunette girl behind him. Takeru stood in surprise for a few seconds before realizing the situation. He glared back and forcefully pulled his arm away from Hikari's grip.

"Talking to a friend."

Hikari returned the glare, "A friend? Talking? Looks like you were about to kiss her."

Takeru apologized to the brunette woman, who was glancing oddly between the ex-couple before walking away, and chuckled dryly at Hikari's comment.

"I don't see why you care so much, Hikari."

"What?" she asked incredulously, trying to keep her balance and composure as she continued to glower at him, "You know, _you're_ the one who wanted to go on 'a break'. If you wanted to _break up_, then you should have just broken up with me, Takeru!"

Miyako had made her way over to Takeru and Hikari, and she quickly tried to pull Hikari away from him. Hikari defiantly held her ground as she yelled at Takeru and the blond glared back at her.

"You would've liked that, wouldn't you?" he spat back as his face started to turn red with anger and betrayal. Hikari scoffed.

"Yeah, Takeru, I would've _loved_ that. It's not like I haven't been sitting around moping over you for the past few weeks. It's not like I haven't been crying every now and then when I think about everything that's happened," she retorted sarcastically. A small crowd was starting to form around them; soon, other members of the gang were starting to realize what was happening. Ken quickly made his way over to the scene and tried to pull Takeru away, but the blond snatched himself away and also held his ground.

"Stop acting like you give a damn, Hikari, why don't you just admit the truth!"

"I don't even know what you're talking about! And why the heck are _you_ angry, _you're_ the one over here flirting your butt off with a bunch of bimbos!" Hikari could feel the full effect of all her drinks starting to kick in, and she suddenly felt herself getting more furious by the second.

Takeru clenched his jaw, "Yeah, don't try to seem all innocent in all this—"

"I haven't _done anything_! You're the one being a jerk! How could you do this to me? You're the one who wanted to go on a break so this is all your fault—"

"Don't blame this on me! You kept a huge secret from me, and you're _still_ keeping one from me now—"

Hikari scoffed and cut him off, "Now, you're just delusional. I told you why I kept the other thing a secret. It was years ago, Takeru, why can't you get over it!"

"Because I know you still have feelings for him!"

Hikari stiffened at his response, and he shook his head angrily as sadness flooded his eyes. Taichi, Sora, and Jyou had made their way over to the ex-couple, and Taichi quickly went to his sister to try and pull her away from the scene.

"Your silence says it all, Hikari. So, don't you _dare_ blame any of this one me—"

Takeru was cut off as a sharp pain spread across his cheek. He had no idea how, but Hikari had taken a step forward and slapped him straight across the face. Everyone around them got silent, and soon Daisuke and Jun made their way over to the scene. Jyou took this as his chance to grab onto Takeru's shoulder and quickly yank him away, but before they could get anywhere, Hikari's small voice spoke up.

"This isn't my fault, Takeru! You pushed me away…you made me start second-guessing _everything_. This isn't my fault…"

With that, Hikari turned around in a fit of sobs, trying to push her way through anyone who got in the way. Miyako and Sora glanced at each other before following closely behind Hikari. Jun immediately went to Jyou's side to help him calm down an angry Takeru, and Daisuke quickly jogged up to Taichi.

"Is she okay, man? What happened?" Daisuke asked curiously. Taichi clenched his jaw and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but I'm about to kick Takeru's ass in a few seconds."

Daisuke sighed dramatically, "_Please_ don't do that. My parents' are already kind of pissed that this whole fiasco just happened, so I don't want anything else ruining their night."

Taichi contemplated a few scenarios in his head and finally decided to honor Daisuke's wishes. Daisuke smiled at his mentor before rushing towards Hikari, Miyako, and Sora. The two latter girls were trying to calm down a weeping Hikari in the lobby as she sat on a couch, but they were desperately failing.

As Daisuke approached them, Sora stood up and sighed helplessly.

"I'm going to get her some tissues, I'll be right back. Watch her with Miyako, Daisuke," she ordered as she left lobby in search of something to wipe Hikari's face with. The young woman continued to sob and Miyako glanced hopelessly at Daisuke.

"What do we do?"

Daisuke looked bewildered, "Why are you asking me? I thought you girls were good at this stuff," he whispered. Hikari must've heard him because her sobs got heavier. He winced as he received a harsh glare from Miyako.

A few people walked by the lobby and watched Hikari peculiarly from the side. Miyako was quick to notice this and tugged at Daisuke's sleeve for his attention.

"Hey, do you have a key to any of the rooms upstairs? This place is also a hotel, right?"

Daiuske raised a brow, "Yeah, it is. I have the key to the room my parents' are staying in tonight, why?"

"Could we bring Hikari up there for a few minutes to calm her down? She's a little drunk and hysterical right now, and I don't want people to see her like this."

Daisuke sighed, "Fine, but not for too long, okay?"

Miyako smiled thankfully before coaxing Hikari to stand up and follow Daisuke up to the room upstairs. Miyako held on tightly to Hikari as they walked, and she could tell that the alcohol was affecting Hikari's ability to walk and cry at the same time. As they approached the room, and Daisuke took out the key to open it, the Miyako led Hikari to the bed and sat her down gently.

The young brunette had softened her cries, but was now looking down at the floor and sniffling. Miyako looked at her pitifully before sitting down next to her. Daisuke stood by the door awkwardly and cleared his throat.

"So, I'm going to head downstairs. Lock the room when you're—"

"No," Hikari suddenly spoke up, wiping her face, "Stay."

Miyako looked back at Daisuke expectantly and the mahogany-haired man sighed and closed the door as he walked over to the bed and sat on the other side of Hikari. They sat in silence for a while until Miyako placed a comforting hand on Hikari's back.

"Are you feeling better now?" she asked her roommate cautiously. Hikari blinked a couple of times before responding.

"Not really…I almost forgot why I hate drinking so much. I feel dizzy."

"Do you want water? Daisuke, do you mind getting some water from that fridge over there?" Miyako asked. Daisuke sighed and got up, but was quickly stopped when Hikari grabbed his hand.

"No…um, Miyako, could you get me some water from downstairs?" Hikari insisted. Miyako raised a brow and had a bad feeling about all this.

"Uh, Hikari, it's okay…the water in the fridge is just as good—"

"Please, Miyako," Hikari stated as she cut off Daisuke's sentence. Miyako didn't know what to do. She didn't really understand Hikari's fight with Takeru, but she did know that Daisuke was mentioned in the fight…and maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave them alone. Miyako glanced at Daisuke who looked awfully uncomfortable. He was pleading at Miyako with his eyes. He didn't want her to leave him alone with Hikari.

"Hikari, just drink the water—"

"I just want to talk to him, Miyako. Could you leave us alone for a little bit? You can come back up in ten minutes I promise," Hikari demanded. Miyako remained unsure, but she respected her best friend's wishes. She gave Daisuke an apologetic look and exited the room.

The room was silent for a few moments as Daisuke sat awkwardly next to Hikari on the bed. He was never good at these kinds of situations, especially when it dealt with a weeping Hikari.

"So…are you okay?"

"No."

Dumb question. Daisuke should've known better. He sat there for a few more seconds trying to think of something clever to say, but nothing came to mind.

"I'm sorry, Daisuke…"

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and raised a brow, "Sorry for what?"

"For messing things up between you and Takeru."

Daisuke chuckled, "Eh, he'll get over it."

"What if he doesn't?" she asked. Daisuke was confused when he saw the look of fear in her eyes. He couldn't understand what Hikari was getting at.

"Why wouldn't he?"

Hikari sighed and placed her face in her hands, "Takeru's right, this is all my fault."

"Hey," Daisuke spoke up as he pulled her hands away from her teary face, "It's not your fault, okay? I'm telling you, Takeru will get over this. Yeah, this whole situation sucks, but it's not a good enough reason to lose you."

Hikari looked up into Daisuke's eyes and shook her head solemnly.

"I don't want to lose him either…but a part of me wants something else so badly."

Daisuke furrowed his brow.

"I don't understand, Hika—"

Before he could say anymore, Hikari placed her lips gently onto his. She waited there for a few seconds to see if he'd pull away, and when he didn't, she pressed her lips more firmly against his and placed her hand softly on his cheek. It took a few more seconds, but before Hikari knew it, he was kissing her back softly, and a jolt of shivers fled up her spine.

For some reason, even though her body was swimming in pleasure, she was finding it hard to ignore the deep feeling of dread in her stomach. Something about all this was wrong, but she ignored her instinct and kept going. Hikari wrapped her arms securely around his neck and Daisuke's hands found their way to Hikari's small waist. Her tongue slowly caressed his bottom lip, and before she knew it, Daisuke was softly pushing her back against the bed onto the mattress.

Hikari's arms found their way under his dress shirt, and as she pressed her hands against his bare back and tried to pull his muscular body closer to hers, Daisuke quickly came to his senses and pulled away from the drunken girl.

"Hikari, we have to stop—"

"No, we don't."

"Yes we do, Kari, this is wrong," he stated as they both breathed heavily. They gazed into each other's eyes as Daisuke laid on top of her until he finally spoke up.

"You know…you looked beautiful today."

Hikari smiled goofily, still feeling the alcohol, "I was trying to get your attention."

Daisuke chuckled at her comment.

"Well, it definitely worked."

They looked at each other for a few more moments before Daisuke pushed himself off of her and sat down normally by her waist. Hikari stayed rested upon the bed and watched Daisuke sadly.

"You know, if this was four years ago, I would've been the happiest guy in the world, but…"

Hikari waited for him to continue, and when he didn't, she nudged him to keep talking, "But…?"

"But you love Takeru. And that's why _this_ feels wrong for the both of us."

Hikari kept quiet because deep down, she knew Daisuke was right. She glanced back up into his eyes and quickly tried to repress her tears from coming back out. The alcohol wasn't making it any easier. Daisuke leaned down and wiped a few stray tears away from her cheeks softly.

"Now, you do whatever you have to do to fix things with Takeru, okay? And no matter what, I'll always be there for you, Hikari. I promise."

Hikari smiled sweetly at him and leaned up to place one last kiss softly on his lips.

"Thank you, Daisuke. Thank you."

* * *

Mimi had heard about the fiasco between Hikari and Takeru that had taken place a few moments ago, and she was completely angry that she missed it. A part of her felt terrible for her younger housemate, and another part of her felt relieved because now everyone at the apartments would be talking about this new fight, and not the old fight between Sora and Mimi that had taken place a week ago.

Mimi was suddenly amused at how much drama was piling up in these last few weeks. God, when was everything going to get back to normal? Mimi looked around the room and sighed at the sight of Ken, Iori, Jun, and Jyou trying to calm down a very distraught Takeru. On the other side of the room, Miyako was chatting up with Daisuke's parents, trying to appolgize for the scene that Hikari and Takeru had created. Miyako had come to inform Sora and Mimi that Hikari and Daisuke were talking upstairs, and that they should keep an eye out for when Hikari returned.

It had been about ten minutes, and Mimi could tell Miyako was anxiously glancing at the lobby for any signs that Hikari was okay.

Sora had gone to pull Taichi away from Takeru because she could tell how angry he was becoming at the younger blond. Everyone knew how Taichi's temper was, and no one wanted him to explode on Takeru and create another scene. Mimi watched as Sora nagged and pulled Taichi onto the dance floor. Mimi smiled as he whined and complained like a little boy before complying with Sora and wrapping his hands around her waist. The band was playing a slow, beautiful song, and Mimi watched as Taichi and Sora danced happily out on the floor.

The way Taichi looked at Sora made Mimi's heart pound…but a part of her was so happy for them. The look on Sora's face did it for Mimi. She'd never seen Sora look so blissful in her entire life.

"Is this seat taken?"

Mimi looked up and was greeted by Koushiro's sweet face. She smiled as he took a seat next to her at the table.

"Where's Keiko?" Mimi asked curiously, glancing around for her. Koushiro smiled.

"She actually found some long, lost friends here. She's talking to them right now," Koushiro explained with a smile, "I didn't realize that Keiko was quite popular."

Mimi chuckled at his comment before gazing back out to Taichi and Sora on the dance floor. Koushiro followed her line of vision and then glanced back at the cinnamon-haired girl with a smile.

"Are you okay? Did you and Sora work everything out?"

Mimi smiled as she continued to watch them, "They're so happy, Kou, just look at them."

He also started examining the couple and couldn't help but smile warmly at Taichi's big grin, "Yeah, they really are."

"You know…everything seems so stupid now. The fight with Sora, ignoring her for days…it all seems so dumb. She loves him. How can I hate her for loving him?"

Koushiro didn't reply, and he glanced at Mimi with a proud smile. She continued to watch them and chuckled when Taichi stepped on Sora's foot, which caused her roommate to hit Taichi upside the head. Somehow, being the best of friends made them the best couple. Mimi could see it now.

"I just hope some day I can find a guy who looks at me like that," Mimi stated with dreamy sigh. Koushiro chuckled at her ironic statement and leaned back in his chair.

"I'm sure you'll find him someday."

She turned to him and smiled brightly, "You think so?"

"Of course," he declared with another warm smile. Mimi nodded her head thankfully and went back to watching Taichi and Sora.

"You know what, Koushiro?" Mimi asked with a confident smile, "I have a feeling that everything's going to be okay."


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: Here's the next update! Sorry this chapter is much smaller, but I hope you all still enjoy it. Thank you for all your amazing reviews, they really do inspire me to keep writing! :)

* * *

Daisuke sighed slowly before idly taking a sip from his beer and gazing nonchalantly at the TV screen in front of him. He was completely worn out after the events from yesterday's anniversary party. After his little 'moment' with Hikari upstairs in the hotel room, he and she both awkwardly trudged down back to the banquet hall and were met by the awaiting eyes of all of their friends. The look in Takeru's eyes had hurt Daisuke a lot more than he'd expected. It's funny because everyone always talked about his puppy-blue eyes, and Daisuke was always first in line to poke fun at Takeru for them…but now he couldn't shake those pained blue eyes from his memory.

Daisuke sunk back into the couch and pouted his lip to himself. He and Takeru were never the closest of friends. He figured it was because they had always clashed over their affection for Hikari. Of course, Daisuke was much more forward about his feelings throughout middle school and high school, and even though Takeru was very reserved about his emotions towards Hikari, she always seemed more interested in the blond than she ever was in Daisuke. Up until that one night in college on Taichi's birthday, of course. Daisuke took another sip and smirked.

Even though Takeru wasn't his closest friend, he was still an important part of Daisuke's life; all of his friends were. He knew for a fact he couldn't let Hikari ruin things between the three of them, and that's why he stopped their actions yesterday. Besides, he wasn't about to let Hikari use him again. They'd already crossed that bridge, and it had created more than enough drama in the past few weeks.

Daisuke sighed before taking another gulp of his beer. How was he ever going to fix things with Takeru now? He was surprised the blond hasn't tried to punch his face in yet. If Daisuke was in his position, he would've knocked Takeru out a long time ago.

"Drinking on a Sunday morning? Well, that's new."

Daisuke turned his head lazily as Taichi walked into the room with a playful smirk. He was showered and dressed casually as he walked over to the fridge and started rummaging through its contents.

"You know what else is new? The fact that _you're_ up this early on a Sunday morning, that's what," Daisuke retorted with a grin, trying to mask his current emotions. There was no way in hell that he was going to talk to Taichi about all of this. If Taichi had any idea of what Daisuke and Hikari had done last night, he'd kick the younger man's ass in a matter of seconds.

"Yeah, I've gotta get some work done today. Story of my life, huh?" Taichi responded with a tired sigh.

Daisuke offered an optimistic smile, "Well, at least things with you and Sora are okay, right?"

Taichi smiled, "Yeah, everything's perfectly fine. Man, that girl is gonna drive me insane, I can already feel it."

"So, did she sleepover last night?" Daisuke asked before snickering to himself as Taichi stumbled in the refrigerator. The actual thought of Taichi and Sora doing _anything_ physical was still completely bizarre and disgusting for Daisuke—since Taichi was basically his older brother, and he considered Sora an older sister—but he just loved making Taichi feel uncomfortable.

He tried not to grin slyly at the blush that crawled onto Taichi's face. He wasn't one to blush easily, so Daisuke could instantly tell how important Sora was to him. It was nice to see his mentor happy with one woman for once in his life, even though that woman was Sora.

"Nah, she slept at her place last night," Taichi replied as he cleared his throat, "She wanted to talk to Mimi some more."

"Oh, they patched everything up?

"Yup. Everything's almost back to normal," Taichi stated before glancing cautiously at his younger roommate. Daisuke looked down solemnly at the floor before turning around and glaring at the television.

"I didn't even do anything, I don't know how I got tangled up into this whole mess," he mumbled to himself before taking another sip of his beer. Taichi hadn't heard him and continued to look through the cabinets for something to eat.

"Hey, where's Koushiro? I'm starving, and he usually makes breakfast," Taichi asked with a confused pout. Daisuke shrugged his shoulders from the couch.

"I think he stayed over Keiko's place."

Taichi grinned knowingly, "Oh, really? Man, I'm so proud of that guy."

This made Daisuke laugh and bring his attention back to Taichi.

"Who would have thought that _Koushiro_ would be sleeping over girls' places, right?"

"I mean, Keiko's his girlfriend, Dai," Taichi stated obviously as he popped some bread into the toaster.

"I know, I know. I'm just saying. A few months ago, Koushiro wouldn't even approach women, and now he's in a serious relationship? It's so weird how different things are becoming around here," Daisuke explained as he got up and headed over to the counter.

"Tell me about it," Taichi mumbled.

There was a knock on the door, and Daisuke went to open it as Taichi grabbed some butter from the fridge and started spreading it on his toast. Sora walked into the apartment and smiled brightly at both of them.

"Good morning, goggle-heads," Sora greeted as she made her way into the apartment. Taichi rolled his eyes as he turned to look at her.

"Are you really bringing that back up? We stopped wearing goggles years ago."

Sora laughed, "Yeah, but sometimes I can't help but picture you two as younger kids kicking around a soccer ball with goggles on your heads."

"Oh, the good old days," Daisuke sighed before closing the door and sitting back down at the counter. Sora followed him and sat down on a stool next to Daisuke.

"What are you two doing up so early, anyway? I was expecting Koushiro to open the door," she asked curiously.

"You know, we're both grown men, Sor. We're perfectly capable of waking up before ten o'clock," Taichi retorted with a smile.

Sora rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure."

Taichi scoffed playfully, "For your information, I have a lot of work to do today. And, you know better than anyone that when I want something, I don't stop until I have it, and I am _getting_ this promotion even if it kills me."

"No need to get so dramatic, Tai, I was just teasing," Sora stated with a laugh as Taichi returned the laugh and popped some of his toast into his mouth.

Daisuke watched them bicker back and forth and chuckled teasingly. This caused the couple to turn in his direction with curious looks.

"What's so funny?" Taichi asked with a raised brow. Daisuke smiled slyly and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh nothing, it's just funny seeing you guys squabble."

Sora furrowed her brow, "Why? We always 'squabble' like this."

"Yeah," Daisuke grinned, "But now that you guys are a couple and all, it's just different."

Sora and Taichi gazed at each other with raised brows before turning back to Daisuke.

"Why is it different?" Taichi asked as he crossed his arms seriously. Daisuke looked between them and suddenly noticed the annoyed looks on their faces. He chuckled nervously.

"I-I mean, you guys are a couple, right? So everything you guys do now will be a 'couple-y' thing," he explained while scratching the back of his head.

"That's not true, Taichi and I are exactly the same. Just because we're together, doesn't mean we're going to act different around all of you guys," Sora explained in defense as Taichi nodded in agreement.

Daisuke chuckled, "Okay, forget I ever brought it up! Jeez," he sighed before standing up and heading to the refrigerator to rummage around. Taichi shot him a small glare before turning his attention back to Sora.

"So, what brings you here?" he asked.

"I was wondering if you could help me put up these new shelves that we got for our bathroom. Mimi and I tried doing it ourselves, but Mimi is absolutely terrible at this hands-on type of stuff. I could really use your help," she explained normally. Taichi thought about it and shrugged approvingly.

"Yeah, no problem. Give me a few hours, though. I really wanted to get a start on all my work today. I have a big assignment due for tomorrow," Taichi stated with a knowing look. Sora understood and smiled thankfully.

"That sounds perfect—"

"Aw, that's so sweet," Daisuke interrupted as he leaned back against the refrigerator and smirked teasingly at the two of them. They both looked at him quizzically as they waited for him to continue.

"Is that your new 'couple-y' thing?"

They both stared speechlessly for a few seconds before Taichi glowered at the younger man.

"Knock it off, Daisuke. I'm serious. Nothing is going to be different, alright? I'm just helping her put up some goddamn shelves, what's the big deal?"

Daisuke put up his hands in defense and grinned playfully, "Wow, no need to get so defensive, Taichi. I mean, if you and Sora are into that type of stuff, that's completely up to you two—"

"You're on thin ice, Motomiya!" Taichi warned as Sora sighed and rubbed her forehead. Daisuke laughed and waved up his hands in defense.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'll stop."

"Good," both Sora and Taichi announced simultaneously. There was a small silence as Daisuke tried to hold himself back from speaking, but he just couldn't hold the words in any longer.

"Aw, now you two are saying things at the same time! Damn, that's the biggest 'couple-y' thing I know—"

Daisuke was cut off as Taichi threw his remaining toast at the younger man, who dodged it skillfully and ran towards his room with a laugh. Even though he was thoroughly amused, Daisuke would never admit that he was joking around with Taichi and Sora partially because he was happy for them…and partially because he was jealous.

* * *

He'd lost track of how many times he'd called Yamato. That damn rockstar just wouldn't pick up his phone. Takeru sighed in frustration as the call went straight to Yamato's voicemail again. What the hell was he doing? This was the worst time to have a dead phone. Takeru shut his cell phone angrily before trudging out of his room and glancing around the living room.

It didn't seem as if anyone was home.

This caused the blond to let out another sigh before running a few tired fingers through his hair. He wasn't surprised. He'd woken up well into the afternoon, exhausted after the fiasco from last night. The only thing that hurt more than his pounding headache was the memory of his fight with Hikari. God, when did everything crumble apart?

Takeru pulled out his cell phone again and glared at the empty screen. Where the hell was Yamato? Sometimes he really hated that his brother wasn't living at the apartments anymore. Takeru hadn't felt this lonely in a very long time. He slowly made his way over to the couch and sat down lazily.

So what was he supposed to do now? Clearing things up with Daisuke was out of the question. He wanted to clear things up with him, but it was too soon. He couldn't face Daisuke until he fixed everything with Hikari, but Takeru was too scared to fix things with the Yagami girl. What if that meant that he'd lose her for good? What if Hikari wanted to be with Daisuke?

Well, for one thing, Takeru knew he had to stop being such a pansy about it. Yes, Hikari was one of the most important people in his life, but he needed to stop being such a baby about the whole situation. Even though his behavior at yesterday's anniversary party was uncalled for, he somehow felt refreshed. Sulking around and pining for Hikari was ridiculous. _He_ was the one who ended things between them, so he had no right to be so distraught over it. Hikari was right…Takeru had pushed her away the minute they went on a break, and he basically pushed her right into Daisuke's arms.

His insecurities had made Hikari question her feelings. If this was anyone's fault, it was Takeru's. Sure, Hikari had kept a big secret from him, but that was all in the past. It was Takeru's insecurities that had really ruined everything. Now, the only question left was whether or not Hikari still wanted to be with him…whether or not Hikari still loved him.

Actually, the real question was who was going to have the guts to approach the other first. Takeru sulked a little more on the couch before taking in a deep breath and pushing himself up. He'd wasted enough time trying to call Yamato, and trying to hide in his room. If this was ever going to be resolved, one of them had to make the first move. Takeru figured it would have to be him. It was time to clear things up once and for all.

Takeru marched himself to the front door and twisted the knob with determination. He stopped dead in his tracks as he swung the door open and saw a surprised Hikari with her arm up, ready to knock on the door. Takeru gawked at her for a few seconds. After weeks of not properly talking to each other, how the heck did they both pick the same exact moment and place to approach each other?

"…Hi," Hikari let out finally, trying to snap Takeru out of his trance. He shook his head as a blush crawled onto his cheeks.

"S-Sorry, you scared me," he explained, letting out a slow breath. He noticed how radiant she looked in her light-washed jeans and yellow blouse. He missed her radiance.

"Um," Hikari stuttered as she glanced at the ground, "Were you on your way out, or…? She trailed.

Takeru raised a brow in confusion before quickly opening the door widely for her to enter. Another blush graced his cheeks.

"Oh, no, come in," he invited as she slowly made her way into the apartment. He watched her gaze around the room as she headed towards the dining table. She hadn't been at his apartment in a while, so she was probably soaking in the feeling of being there again.

Every ounce of courage that Takeru had mustered quickly dissipated. He suddenly recalled the events from last night and became slightly enraged. The image of Hikari and Daisuke entering the banquet hall together after being upstairs became clear in his mind again. However, his train of thought was shattered as soon as Hikari left out a sweet chuckle.

"It's funny, you know," she paused to turn to him and smile warmly, "It's been weeks since the last time I've been at your apartment, but everything is still exactly the same. As if nothing has changed…"

Takeru leaned against the fridge as he crossed his arms and stared at the ground.

"Feels much longer than a few weeks," he mumbled.

There was a moment of awkward silence as Hikari took a seat at the dining table and collected her thoughts. Takeru could tell she was trying to think of something to say; a way to bring up everything.

"I'm sorry for slapping you yesterday…it was completely uncalled for," Hikari apologized as she fidgeted with a napkin that was resting on the dining table. Takeru looked up into her eyes and couldn't help but smile.

"You pack quite a punch, Ms. Yagami, let me tell you," he joked. Hikari allowed herself a small chuckle as she looked at the napkin.

"I must get that from my brother, I guess…"

Takeru watched her as she solemnly played with the napkin before clearing his throat, "Why'd you come over here, Hikari?" he asked bluntly.

Hikari glanced at him for a few seconds before blushing.

"I don't want to be like this anymore, Takeru. I'm tired of us acting like this."

Takeru's heart raced as he listened to her words. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but her words seemed eerily final. He bit his lip as he made his way over to the dining table and took a seat across from her. At his silence, she continued slowly.

"I've been thinking about everything, and I feel like it's all so…so stupid," she paused as a few tears swam in her eyes, "This whole situation is pointless. I love you, and I want to be with you, but the fact that you wanted to take a break just because of a stupid fling that I had in the past—"

"Okay, stop," he cut her off as he looked up in defiance, "I wasn't completely wrong in breaking things off, Hikari. I saw the way you looked at him yesterday, alright? I'm not an idiot, I knew something was going on."

"_Nothing_ was going on, Takeru. Before all of this, I didn't think of Daisuke as anything more than a good friend. But, after you told me that you wanted to take a break, I started questioning everything, okay? And because of all that, I began looking at Daisuke differently. It wouldn't have happened if you just let things be," she explained desperately, trying to make Takeru understand. But, Takeru didn't understand. He closed his eyes and shook his head solemnly.

"If you really did love me, you wouldn't have been looking for Daisuke's attention like you were last night. You wouldn't be looking at Daisuke differently at all," he stated bluntly. Hikari grasped the napkin tightly in her hands as she stared sadly at the table.

"There were a lot of unfinished emotions left with Daisuke. I don't expect you to understand or even forgive me for last night, but I'll admit that I was confused," she confessed softly. Takeru tried not to let her words hurt him as much as they were.

He looked at her seriously, "Do you love him?"

Hikari's head immediately snapped up to capture his gaze. There was a look of horror in her hazel eyes, but Takeru immediately held his ground.

"Of course I love him," she started, "but I'm not in love with him."

Takeru tried not to roll his eyes.

"Then what were you so confused about, Hikari—"

"Look, Daisuke doesn't make me feel boring…he makes me feel carefree. I wanted his spontaneity and passion, and I think a big part of me wanted that reckless night I had with him in college again because I loved having that feeling."

Takeru stared at her speechlessly as he tried to think of something to say. Hikari wiped a few tears that stained her cheeks before looking back into his sweet, blue eyes.

"It scares me, you know that? I know that you think I'm this sweet, caring person, but sometimes I really don't think I am…I'm scared that I'm more like my brother than people believe," she stated with a dry chuckle. Takeru shook his head reassuringly.

"You're not a terrible person, Hikari. You're human."

Hikari didn't seem convinced.

Takeru glanced at the table, "What happened before you and Daisuke came back down to the banquet hall?"

The guilty look in Hikari's eyes was enough. Even though Takeru figured something had happened, actually knowing the truth really hurt him. He hated that all this was happening.

"Before you think anything, Daisuke was the one who stopped it all—"

"Stopped what?"

Hikari ignored his question, "And I'm so sorry, I was just so jealous after seeing you with those women you were flirting with—"

"What happened, Hikari?"

She pursed her lips tightly before letting herself speak.

"We kissed for a little bit, that's all."

At this point, Takeru didn't know how to react. He was feeling so many emotions, he was sure his face was turning red. Hikari waited for him to say something anxiously, but when he stayed silent, she started babbling on.

"Takeru, please don't be angry with him. If there's anyone you should be angry with, it's me. I was being an idiot, and I had had a little too much to drink—"

Takeru adamantly got up from his chair. He pushed himself up with some much force that the chair toppled back behind him. Hikari desperately stood up and ran to stop Takeru in his tracks as he headed for his room.

"Takeru, please—"

"How do you expect me to take this, Hikari? Now, I'll never be able to stop picturing the two of you together—"

"I love _you_, Takeru."

He scoffed dryly, "You have one hell of a way of showing it."

Hikari wiped her tears again, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that this happened, but it made me realize that I don't want to kiss anyone else but you."

Takeru clenched his jaw as Hikari cautiously placed her hand on his soft cheek. Takeru tried not to soften his gaze at her frightened look. He also tried not to wince as she moved in closer to him.

"I don't want to be with anyone else but you. I know I've made some terrible mistakes, and we've both done our fair share in ruining this relationship, but I don't want to believe that we're too far-gone to fix this. I _won't_ believe it," she stated softly. Takeru's heart pounded as he gazed into her clear eyes. He couldn't deny that he had missed her so much.

Before he had any idea of what he was doing, Takeru forcefully pulled her to him and kissed her passionately on the lips. Hikari eyes widened for a few seconds before she contently obliged with his actions. It became clear how desperately they'd both missed each other. Takeru slid his hands gently down her back as she pressed her body closer into his.

As Hikari started running her hands feverishly through his soft blond hair, Takeru slowly led them into the bedroom and closed the door softly behind them.

* * *

Mimi winced as she heard a loud crash come from the bathroom. She had to suppress a giggle as she listened to Sora scold Taichi rather boisterously. Mimi knew that those shelves were much harder to put up than Sora had led on, and listening to the two of them fight in the bathroom was making Mimi smirk proudly.

"Are you guys alright in there?" she called from the couch, flipping a page in one of Sora's fashion magazines.

"Yes!" they both retorted back simultaneously from the bathroom, leading Mimi to grin in amusement. Sure, she wasn't completely comfortable with the couple yet, but she had to admit that their antics were pretty cute.

Miyako walked out of her room and smiled brightly at the sight of Mimi. She was about to greet her properly until another crash came from the bathroom along with another slew of bickering. Miyako raised a brow curiously.

"What's going on in there?" she asked.

Mimi was about to respond until Sora's voice became clear from the bathroom.

"Seriously, Tai, I thought you knew how to use a screwdriver. Didn't your dad teach you all this stuff—"

"Do you want my help or not? God, stop getting in my way, I can't focus properly with you breathing down my back!"

"Well, you're doing everything wrong!"

"No, I'm not!"

Miyako also tried to suppress a laugh as she gave Mimi a knowing look, "Gosh, they're acting like a married couple already."

Miyako quickly shut her mouth after the statement, remembering that Mimi and Sora had only patched things up yesterday. Mimi glanced up and smiled warmly.

"I'm fine, Miyako," she asserted, leaving the younger woman to sigh with ease and sit down on the couch, "So, do you have any plans today?"

Miyako shrugged, "Nope, I was thinking about relaxing and reading a book. I've got nothing else to do until Hikari comes back from her chat with Takeru."

"Oh, yeah," Mimi recalled, "I forgot that she was going to try to work things out with Takeru today. When did she leave?"

"About an hour ago. I hope things are going well…I hate seeing Hikari like this."

Mimi nodded in agreement and gazed out into space. After everyone had gotten back to the apartments last night, it had taken a while for the girls to convince Hikari to go to sleep. She was so adamant about talking to Takeru that it took another hour for her to change into her pajamas and crawl into bed.

The sound of the front door opening made both girls turn their heads back. Daisuke trudged into the apartment looking sullen and pouty.

"Hey, have you guys seen Taichi?"

"He's in the bathroom with Sora, but I don't think you want to go in there," Miyako answered with an amused look. This made Daisuke's face brighten up and he immediately grinned widely.

"Oh, it's like _that_, huh? Wow, they should at least have the decency to do things in a bedroom."

"That's not what I meant you pervert! They're putting up shelves in the bathroom," Miyako clarified with the roll of her eyes. Mimi couldn't stop herself form laughing.

"They've been at it for almost fourty-five minutes now," Mimi added. Daisuke sighed and walked over to the couch, forcing himself between the two women. Miyako scoffed and shoved him playfully.

"You are so rude, Daisuke. Seriously, learn some manners," she stated as she stuck up her nose. Daisuke glared and shoved her back. Before Mimi knew it, they were both shoving at each other, and the older woman sighed exasperatedly.

"I swear, you two are like children. You're worse than Taichi and Sora," she scolded with a laugh. Both Daisuke and Miyako stopped bickering and crossed their arms defiantly. Mimi smiled.

"So, what do you need Taichi for, Dai?" Mimi asked sweetly. This made Daisuke's mood turn sour again and he sunk down in the couch.

"No reason, just felt like going to some bars or something. Maybe a strip club. You know, do a 'guy's night' type of thing."

"Pervert," Miyako grumbled under her breath. Daisuke shoved her again and she sniggered quietly.

Mimi looked at him worriedly, "Why? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just broke up with Bianca, so I'm trying to just get my mind off everything," he explained with a sigh.

Mimi noticed his choice of words. Instead of saying that he was trying to get his mind off of 'Bianca', he said that hew as trying to get his mind off of 'everything.' She knew that this probably had to do with last night. Miyako must have figured it out, as well, because she kept quiet and didn't say anything to tease him this time.

"So…how's Hikari?" he asked cautiously, glancing around the room as if she was in the apartment.

"Um, she's actually talking to Takeru right now," Miyako explained, nudging him comfortingly. Daisuke's eyes lit up.

"She is? Wow, that's great," he stated sincerely as he gazed solemnly out into space. Mimi smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Everything's going to be alright, Daisuke," she comforted, and Daisuke turned to smile thankfully. The three of them sat in silence for a few seconds until Taichi and Sora walked out of the bathroom loudly.

"See, I told you I'd get it done. Jeez, Sor, learn to have a little faith," Taichi stated with a mocking grin.

"Yeah, not like it didn't take you an hour or anything," she mumbled teasingly under her breath. It earned her a glare from her best friend, which she laughed brightly at. When Taichi noticed Daisuke in the room he raised a brow.

"Hey, Daisuke, what's up?"

The younger man grinned and immediately stood up as Taichi came into view.

"Yes, you're done! So listen, do you feel like going out tonight?" Daisuke asked eagerly. Taichi scrunched his brows in confusion.

"Um, it's a Sunday night, Dai. We both have work tomorrow."

Daisuke looked at the floor sadly, "Y-Yeah, of course. I understand…"

Mimi looked at Daisuke sympathetically before secretly getting Taichi's attention from behind the younger man. Once she had Taichi's awareness, she mouthed 'He broke up with Bianca' to him, and realization immediately dawned onto Taichi's rugged face. Mimi smiled triumphantly and tried to ignore the butterflies that Taichi's eyes still gave her. She noticed that Sora had also read her lips, and her roommate immediately offered Daisuke a motherly smile.

"Actually, let's go out tonight, Daisuke! We haven't done it in a while," Taichi stated with a comforting grin. Daisuke's face lit up and he mirrored a grin that was eerily similar to Taichi's.

"Really? Okay, that sounds great!" Daisuke cheered before quickly turning to Sora with a serious look, "I mean, only if this is okay with you, Sora. Seriously, if you're not comfortable with letting Taichi go out, I understand," he joked.

Taichi tried not to glare at the younger man so he let out a frustrated sigh instead.

Sora raised a brow, "Obviously I'm fine with it, Daisuke."

"Are you sure? I was thinking about hitting up a few strip clubs, too," he grinned.

Taichi tried to repress a blush, but was failing miserably at it. Sora stood obliviously next to Taichi and chuckled awkwardly.

"I-It's fine, Daisuke, really. You two go and have fun, just don't be out too late," she asserted, looking at both of them seriously. Both men nodded like obedient little boys before heading out of the apartment. Daisuke could barely contain his excitement as he exited, and Taichi shot Sora a comforting look before closing the door.

The red-head sighed as she made her way over to the couch and sat down in Daisuke's previous spot between her two roommates. Miyako chuckled teasingly.

"You _really_ don't mind that Taichi's going to a strip club? If I found out Ken was at a strip club, I'd kick his butt," she explained with a witty grin. Sora fidgeted with her shirt and shrugged her shoulders.

"I mean, he and Daisuke used to do this type of stuff all the time. Who am I to stop them?"

"Um, you _are_ his girlfriend, Sora," Mimi reminded with a smile. Sora looked at her cautiously and Mimi responded with a comforting nudge. Miyako nodded in agreement, and Sora let out a small sigh.

"Look, I don't want you guys treating us differently just because we're together now, and I definitely don't want to act differently around you guys, either. Honestly, the strip club thing doesn't really bother me, and besides, it's for Daisuke to get over Bianca so it's perfectly fine. And, seriously, don't we all want Daisuke to get over Bianca as soon as possible? God, if we have to deal with that woman anymore, I don't know what I'll do," Sora explained with a heavy sigh. Miyako and Mimi glanced at each other before nodding profusely.

"Amen to that," Miyako stated as she shot her tongue out in disgust, "I hate her."

"So," Sora quickly interjected to change the subject, "Hikari hasn't come back yet?"

"Nope," Miyako stated before looking at the door with worry, "I hope everything's going well."

"Me, too…" Sora agreed, glancing at Mimi with a small smile. The cinnamon-haired woman returned the smile and squeezed Sora's hand knowingly. Everything was going to be alright. Things would get better. They always did.

* * *

Hikari couldn't help but smile as she continued to rest her head on Takeru's bare chest. This was right. Nothing felt more comforting than laying in bed with Takeru like they used to. God, she wished things hadn't changed as much as they did. Takeru stroked her hair lightly, and Hikari had to force herself not to fall asleep.

"I've missed this…" she stated softly as she let her eyes close cautiously. The sound of his heartbeat was lulling her to sleep.

"Me, too," he mumbled. She could hear the odd tone in his voice and she immediately opened her eyes again.

"So, what now?" She asked quietly. She was scared to know his answer, and held her breath until he responded.

"I don't know…"

She remained silent and nodded her head to herself. Her hand started tracing his abdominals mindlessly as she thought about what to say. She knew what she wanted to ask him, but she was too scared to ask. After a few seconds, she regained her courage and pursed her lips before speaking.

"Do you still want to be with me?"

She could feel him shift uncomfortably under her head.

"O-Of course I do."

"You don't sound so sure…" Hikari spoke obviously. A part of her wanted to lift herself off of his bed and storm out of his room with whatever dignity she had left, but another part of her desperately wanted to stay in their current position. She loved being this close to him. She started to wonder why she ever wanted anything else.

"I just—…You can't expect me to get over everything so easily, Hikari."

"I'm not asking you to," she adamantly stated, "and I don't expect you to."

"How do I know you're not going to get scared again, huh? What happens if our relationship starts moving ahead…are you going to run away again? Are you going to try and be 'spontaneous' and 'carefree'? I don't want to go through it all again—"

"I love you, Takeru. That's all I know…I can't promise you anything more than that. You'll just have to learn to trust me again," she replied softly, allowing her eyes to fill up with tears once again. They slowly rolled down her cheek and onto his chest.

Her heart skipped a beat as his finger slowly wiped away the tears.

"I don't think I _can_ stop loving you," he joked softly with a chuckle. Hikari smiled and looked up into his bright blue eyes. He was looking at her in that way that always gave her butterflies.

"So, you'll take me back?" she asked hopefully. She knew he wouldn't be able to say 'no' to her sweet face now. She had to hold herself back from grinning. Takeru knew the stunt she was trying to pull and glared playfully.

"That's not fair, you know that innocent look of yours can make me do anything!"

Hikari chuckled, "I told you I'm not as innocent as you thought I was," she retorted with a sincere smile.

Takeru laughed and ran a few more fingers through her hair before lifting her up and kissing her perfectly on the lips. They kissed softly for a few more seconds before he pulled away and rubbed her cheek affectionately.

"Of course I'll take you back," he replied with a sweet smile. He leaned in for another kiss until Hikari pulled away.

"Just promise me something," she stated seriously. Takeru raised a brow.

"What is it?"

"Promise me you'll talk to Daisuke," she begged, her eyes swimming with tears again, "Daisuke and I are perfectly fine, but I don't want you to despise him. He's been amazing through all this, you have to give him some credit."

Takeru glanced down at his wrinkled bed sheets and sighed.

"Okay," he agreed with a hesitant look, "I promise."


End file.
